Israel is right to take fight to Hezbollah – a ceasefire would only kick can down road

Article published in The Daily Express, 1 October 2024. © Richard Kemp

After a year of almost daily missile and drone attacks from Lebanon into Israel, the Israel Defence Forces has now stepped up its operations inside Lebanon.

We have witnessed the use of explosive-packed pagers and radios as well as air strikes against senior leaders. The pinnacle of that campaign came last week with the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah for three decades.

Having decimated Hezbollah’s leadership, in the last couple of days the Israel Defence Forces has mounted limited ground raids into southern Lebanon.

This operation might well expand into a full-blown air and ground offensive to push Hezbollah terrorists north at least as far as the Litani River, 18 miles from the Israeli border.

That will include air strikes into the depth of the country to destroy long-range missiles and drones that the terrorists will try to use both to hit IDF troops in southern Lebanon and fire deep into Israeli population centres.

This and the war in Gaza are just two arenas in a seven front war that Israel has been fighting for the last year, including the West Bank, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

The final front is Iran itself, which created, directs, funds and arms this ‘Ring of Fire’ around Israel intended to bring about its destruction.

The ayatollahs are watching in horror as Israel relentlessly degrades their two main proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. The loss of Hezbollah’s military power would be particularly devastating, as the 150,000 rockets in its armoury are there to deter Israeli or US military action against Iran.

As Hezbollah’s future is threatened there is every likelihood that Tehran will now attempt further direct strikes against Israel, along the lines of the failed missile and drone attacks in April.

It is also possible that Iran, directly or through its proxies, will try to strike Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in order to pile pressure on the US to restrain Israel.

So far Israel has resisted US and European demands for a ceasefire both in Gaza and Lebanon. It has been right to do so. There can be no reasoning with the fanatical jihadists bent on its destruction. Any diplomatic solution can be nothing more than a temporary cessation, kicking the can down the road rather than crushing it. Continue reading

The New York Times’ Hezbollah terrorist worship exposes the Left’s moral collapse

Article published in The Daily Telegraph, 30 September 2024. © Richard Kemp

Hassan Nasrallah was a vicious, murderous terrorist with the blood of many thousands on his hands, in Israel, across the Middle East and around the world. But you may not have known that had you read the New York Times’s hero-worshipping eulogy of the dead Hezbollah leader, in which they labelled him a ‘beloved’ and ‘powerful orator’, who supposedly championed equality among Muslims, Christians and Jews. Associated Press joined in the applause, calling him ‘charismatic and shrewd’, an astute strategist, idolised by his Lebanese Shiite followers, and respected by millions across the Arab and Islamic world.

All this is reminiscent of the Washington Post’s infamous 2019 headline that described Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi as an ‘austere religious scholar’ after he was killed during a raid by US special forces. This insanity illustrates just how dangerous the Left-leaning media’s shift away from moral clarity on such issues has become.

We saw the effects of such distortion last year when Bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’, published on the Guardian website, went viral on social media. The letter, which called for assault against ‘Americans and Jews’, was widely praised by many TikTokers.

That was a reaction by pro-Palestinian activists to the war in Gaza, and may well have been orchestrated by the well-funded anti-Israel propaganda campaign that has been gaining immense traction in the West since Hamas terrorists, along with hundreds of Gazan civilians, invaded Israel in an orgy of murder, rape, torture and kidnap on October 7. That abomination was quickly forgotten – and even wilfully denied – by swathes of the progressive Left amid Israel’s defensive campaign in Gaza.

Despite unprecedented Israeli efforts to minimise civilian casualties and enable aid delivery, both of which I have personally witnessed, the Israel Defense Forces have been widely vilified as war criminals, while Jerusalem’s opponents have been given the sort of treatment Nasrallah enjoyed from the New York Times. The bias is shamefully blatant. Continue reading

Israel is winning its war against Hezbollah. We should celebrate

Article published in The Daily Telegraph, 19 September 2024. © Richard Kemp

Israel’s leaders have announced that the focus of the war is now shifting northwards from Gaza to Lebanon. This follows a lightning bolt delivered to the Hezbollah terror army in which dozens of terrorists were killed and over 3,000 wounded when their pagers and walkie-talkies exploded.

It’s not clear yet how this extraordinary event, perhaps the greatest single blow ever inflicted on a terrorist organisation, connects to the announced strategic shift.

But what we do know is that the IDF is reinforcing the divisions that have defended against Hezbollah’s daily attacks on the northern front for the past year. These reinforcements are coming out of Gaza, which is possible now because Hamas as an organised terror army has been destroyed.

Last week I drove with the IDF along the Philadelphi Corridor that forms the border between Gaza and Egypt. While Israel holds this terrain, Hamas cannot reconstitute. Although the fighting is far from over – there are still many hostages to free, terrorists to eliminate and tunnels to destroy – sufficient forces can now be released for the north.

The conflict may involve piling pressure on Hezbollah in the wake of the pager attacks to force them to cease fire and move north of the Litani river. If this fails, then a large-scale air and ground offensive may become necessary.

A struggle in the region won’t be easy, but it can certainly be won. We have seen the extraordinary achievements of the IDF in Gaza, fighting from the air, on the ground and beneath the surface.

In the past 11 months they have killed an estimated 20,000 terrorists against 340 IDF deaths. On probably the most complex battlefield seen in modern warfare, they have also achieved great success in minimising civilian casualties and maximising aid deliveries.

Much of this experience from Gaza will be applied in Lebanon. There are differences of scale, terrain, population and tactics, but Continue reading

Al Qaeda will be even bigger threat than they were in 2001 under Osama Bin Laden’s son

Article published in The Daily Mirror, 13 September 2024. © Richard Kemp

Coalition forces succeeded in their mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021. That statement may come as a surprise to some, but it’s true. Our primary purpose was to prevent another 9/11 — the worst terrorist attack in history — emerging from Afghanistan, and during that period nothing like it was ever launched from there.

Today the picture is very different, with a leaked intelligence report showing Al Qaida dramatically regaining strength in a country now under Taliban rule as it was on 9/11. And it’s not just Al Qaida. The Islamic State is also on the rise in Afghanistan. They carried out a horrific attack at the Crocus Hall in Moscow in March killing 145 people.

I was Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan in 2003. Back then, the Taliban and Al Qaida were pretty much at bay, following the successful US-led operation to drive them out that began in 2001. Later they became resurgent again but were being held back by the Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition troops, including the British. That all ended when President Joe Biden ordered his disastrous withdrawal in 2021. It led directly to the collapse of the Afghan forces and the Kabul government. As a result jihadist terror came full circle.

According to the leaked report, Al Qaida is now led by Usama Bin Laden’s son Hamza, along with other members of the Bin Laden terror dynasty. They have an open field now in Afghanistan, despite Biden’s boast in 2021 that US “over the horizon capabilities” would be sufficient to deal with the threat. In reality the intelligence and combat vacuum that he created means Al Qaida and the Islamic State will become an even greater danger to us all even than they were in 2001. And Hamza Bin Laden will be intent not only on jihadist conquest but also on vengeance for his father.

 

The US should sanction the ICC

Article published in The Spectator, 31 August 2024. © Richard Kemp

The actions of the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, will deprive Israel of its sovereignty and undermine the West’s defence against terrorists and despots. The US must put a stop to it.

In a submission to the ICC last week, Khan doubled down on his demands to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. He was responding to a multitude of submissions made to the Pre-Trial Chamber contesting the arrest warrants he demands. Most of these submissions questioned the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israel.

Israel, like the US and many other countries, is not a state party to the ICC. Before 2015, that placed Jerusalem outside the scope of the ICC’s legal powers, much as the court might have wished otherwise. That year, ‘Palestine’ became a member of the ICC, even though it is not a full member state of the UN. In order to secure jurisdiction over Palestine, and by extension over Israel too, the court unilaterally and without any legal authority decided on its boundaries: ‘the West Bank’, east Jerusalem, and Gaza. Of course borders can only be agreed by direct negotiation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which has not been achieved. That though is an inconvenient detail to be ignored by an ICC that wants Israelis in the dock at the Hague.

One of the main issues raised by those challenging Khan’s application, including the previous UK government, is that ICC jurisdiction over Israel violates the Oslo Accords. No matter, says the Prosecutor: the Rome Statute, which founded the ICC, overrides even that legally-binding bilateral treaty.

Khan objects to the restricted legal powers granted to the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, which effectively nullify ICC jurisdiction over Israelis in PA-controlled territory including Gaza. According to him, that can’t be so because it is not up to Israel as an ‘occupying power’ to impose legal restrictions on a sovereign people. He of course rejects the reality, so hotly debated for so many years, that ‘Palestine’ is not in fact a sovereign state and Israel cannot be an occupier of territory over which, since 1948, only Continue reading

Israel is winning the war but losing the world

Article published in The Daily Telegraph, 30 August 2024. © Richard Kemp

The confrontations in the West Bank starkly illustrate the challenges Israel faces today on the world stage. Even before October 7 the level of violence there was on the rise. Since Hamas’s murderous invasion along the Gaza border, terrorist aggression in the West Bank has increased further. Much of this is down to Hamas as well as Fatah terrorists who are being pressed forward by Iranian funds and arms as well as encouragement by the Palestinian Authority. Until now, the IDF carried out limited raids to contain it. A couple of days ago it launched a division-sized operation.

The BBC, which has displayed repeated hostility towards Israel, has been questioning whether it was necessary for Jerusalem to defend itself against West Bank terrorism, rather than first questioning why they had to do so. Predictably the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has called for an ‘immediate cessation’ of Israeli operations. In a tweet he recited the worn-out solecism so beloved of international diplomats who have no answers: ‘Only an end to the occupation and a return to a meaningful political process that will establish a two-state solution will bring an end to the violence.’

Guterres is living in an alternate universe. After Israel withdrew its forces and uprooted all its citizens from Gaza in 2005, the strip was turned into an engine of war. Hamas’s fortress could be contained without full-scale military operations until October 7, but that doesn’t apply to the West Bank with its proximity to major Israeli population centres as well as its long border with Jordan. A terrorist army left unchecked would not only threaten Israel but Jordan as well.

Already Iran has been trying to destabilise Amman and develop a base of attack against Israel from the country. So no, Mr Guterres, the utopian vision of a two-state solution, which polls show the majority of Palestinian Arabs don’t want in any case, is not possible, especially not now.

We see this same picture with Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Israel has been attacked on all fronts and has responded in each case, both defensively and offensively, with tactical brilliance. Yet it has also been condemned repeatedly for doing so, in the media, in international bodies and in Western capitals. The traditional response among political leaders and diplomats always begins with ‘Israel has the right to defend itself but …’ before the predictable calls for restraint and ceasefires, topped off by the obligatory mumblings about a ‘two-state solution’.

The sort of restraint demanded has never been asked of any other country under attack. An example of the double standards applied to Israel can be seen in two tweets by David Lammy a few days ago. In response to attacks by Russia on Ukraine, he said: ‘The UK utterly condemns Russia’s cowardly missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine today. These assaults are in flagrant violation of international law and those responsible must be brought to justice.’ The day before, responding to Hezbollah missile and Continue reading

Israel’s persecution has exposed our two-tier international justice system

Article published in The Daily Telegraph, 20 August 2024. © Richard Kemp

It looks like International Criminal Court justices will soon decide whether to issue arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister and Defence Minister. The very prospect of this is nothing short of outrageous.

Successive ICC Chief Prosecutors have long had Israel in their crosshairs, and Hamas’s October orgy of mass murder, rape, torture and kidnapping gave British lawyer Karim Khan, the current incumbent, the pernicious excuse to move forward. Not against the Hamas terrorist perpetrators, of course, but against Israel.

To make the point that everyone is equal under the law, Khan requested arrest warrants concurrently for Hamas and Israeli leaders. That obviously would have zero effect on Hamas, already designated terrorists around the world and with absolutely nothing to lose. A meaningless, symbolic gesture – you might think.

But it is far, far worse than that. Creating a false equivalence between arch terrorists whose currency is blood and suffering and the leaders of a democratic state defending their people from attack is nothing short of morally bankrupt. It is like indicting Osama Bin Laden and President George W Bush at the same time. Or dragging Winston Churchill into the dock at Nuremberg beside Heinrich Himmler.

The High Level Military Group, ten former chiefs of staff, senior officers and cabinet ministers from Nato countries, of which I am a member, has submitted to the court a strong professional objection to Khan’s schemes. The HLMG, whose members are from the US, UK, Spain, France, Italy and Finland, were in Israel in July.

Among other military issues, we focused on Khan’s allegations that the Israeli ministers intentionally attacked civilians in Gaza and intentionally used starvation as a method of war. In our submission, Continue reading

Ukraine has exposed Starmer’s basic cowardice

Article published in The Daily Telegraph, 13 August 2024. © Richard Kemp

Vladimir Putin is not the only world leader who has been humiliated by Ukraine’s unexpected thrust into Kursk – the first major assault into Russian territory since the Second World War – though it has certainly achieved that. Despite his attempts to put on a brave face, the Russian president is undoubtedly rattled. On Monday, he was seen reprimanding senior officials over what they could and could not say about the incursion, no doubt concerned about the possibilities for regime destabilisation if it cannot be rapidly contained.

But this bold move also exposes the cowardice of Ukraine’s allies. Putin told his officials: “The West is fighting us with the hands of Ukrainians.” If so, they continue to be tied behind Kyiv’s back. If the Russian army manages to get its act together, it has the killing power to hurl Ukrainian forces back behind their own borders. Russian troops have been counter-attacking and will continue to do so with ever-greater ferocity. In the face of that, President Zelensky has appealed to his Western allies to allow long-range weapons to be used to defend his soldiers, for example to hit Russian airfields used to strike the advancing troops, as well as roads and railways to bring up reinforcements.

British Storm Shadow missiles could be a game-changer in this battle, but the Government appears unwilling to allow them to be used to their full potential. According to a No 10 spokesman: “There has been no change in the UK’s position… We are clear that equipment provided by the UK is intended for the defence of Ukraine.” What does Sir Keir Starmer think this attack into Russia is all about, other than the defence of Ukraine? How would the Second World War have worked out if the prime minister had not allowed British and American bombs to fall on German land?

Joe Biden is reportedly taking the same line as Starmer, refusing to permit much-needed ATACMS long-range missiles to support the Ukrainian offensive. This has been the wretched story throughout this war, with Western allies making policy not on the basis of Ukraine’s vital defensive needs but with an unfounded fear of Continue reading

Ukraine has just humiliated Putin. Long may it last

Article published in The Sunday Telegraph, 7 August 2024. © Richard Kemp

In an audacious armoured assault into the Kursk region of Russia, Ukrainian armed forces have advanced further than either side in almost two years. The attack by at least two brigades took the Kremlin by complete surprise. Or at least it was launched and seized significant territory before any counter move could put a stop to it. So much for the supposedly transparent battlefields of the 21st century.

The advantages of surprise in war are transient but even after four days fighting, Russian forces have yet to contain the incursion. That’s hardly surprising given the thinly spread defences along this part of the border. So far local irregular forces and conscripts have been sent in and at least one battalion of reaction forces was apparently largely destroyed by what seems to have been a long-range missile strike.

So far Kyiv has not commented on its objectives for this new offensive; entirely right when it is so important to keep the enemy guessing.

Whatever the strategic rationale, this is a substantial investment in forces that could potentially be destroyed or cut off at a time when Ukraine is short of troops and failing to hold back steady Russian advances in Donbas. It is a huge morale boost at a time when the country had reached the lowest point since the earliest days of the war.

But important though that is, it doesn’t seem adequate justification to take such a risk. Militarily, this operation could be aimed at reducing pressure elsewhere on the front lines, by forcing the Russians to redeploy significant forces to deal with it, something that may already be in the pipeline.

Some have also speculated that Kyiv’s objective might be to seize the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. That would be a major prize, and the risks of fallout would severely hamper efforts to recapture it. But it is around 40km beyond the ground Ukraine is currently fighting on and almost certainly out of reach. Continue reading

Putin’s war is sweeping into Africa – and Kyiv’s special forces are deadly

Article published in The Daily Telegraph, 7 August 2024. © Richard Kemp

Putin’s war against Ukraine and the West has spilled into Africa and the Middle East. Most recently, Kyiv claims to have supplied rebel groups in Mali with intelligence that led to an attack against Russian Wagner Group mercenaries in which 84 were reportedly killed.

Wagner fought in the war against Ukraine until its now deceased leader Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an abortive coup against the Kremlin last year. Since then they have expanded operations in the Sahel and central Africa and have now been re-branded from the name of Hitler’s favourite composer to a military unit he created in 1941, the Africa Corps.

While fighting an attritional war against Russian aggression, Ukraine has been hamstrung by lily-livered restrictions on use of Western supplied munitions to go on the offensive inside Russian sovereign territory. Nevertheless Kyiv has taken the fight to the Russians wherever it can, using its own drones as well as ground forces. That has had limited effect but has diverted some Russian defensive assets away from the front as well as providing an important boost to Ukrainian morale.

Meanwhile Kyiv has sought military opportunities even further afield, perhaps in an echo of Churchill’s Special Operations Executive which sent military operatives to establish a “second front” in Europe before D-Day was even a possibility. Since at least last year, Ukrainian special forces have endeavoured to damage Russian military capabilities by attacking elsewhere in the world.

In May, General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said: “We conduct operations aimed at reducing Russian military potential anywhere where it’s possible”. That includes Sudan, where Russian mercenaries are supporting the rebel Rapid Support Forces which have been fighting against government troops since last spring. Moscow’s primary purpose was to secure gold supplies facilitated by the rebels to fight the war in Ukraine, circumventing Western sanctions. Working to disrupt those supplies, Ukraine has provided the embattled government forces with drones and military training, and Ukrainian special forces have reportedly carried out attacks against Russian mercenaries. Continue reading