Washington, D.C. - Mr. Speaker, imagine for a moment that there was a murderous anti-American terrorist organization based just across one of our borders.

 

That this group was funded and controlled by countries dedicated to the destruction of the United States.

 

That it had stockpiled thousands of offensive weapons that could be unleashed on our citizens with little or no warning.

 

That it launched an unprovoked cross-border attack, kidnapping two of our border patrol agents, and killing several others,

 

And that it unleashed a massive barrage of missiles on one of our cities, with the sole intent of killing innocent civilians.

 

The American people would demand immediate and decisive action to recover our agents and eliminate the threat.

 

The Congress would overwhelmingly approve a resolution authorizing the President to use force, just as we did after 9/11.

 

And none of us would be satisfied with a ceasefire that allowed the terrorists to regroup and rebuild their weapons stockpile.

 

For America, this scenario is just a fantasy.  But for Israel, this is a daily reality.

 

For years, Israel has lived with Hezbollah’s Sword of Damocles hanging over its head.

 

It has shown extraordinary restraint in the face of repeated attacks.

 

But this latest attack, and the kidnapping of its two soldiers, was a naked act of aggression.

Israel did not seek this conflict, but it was compelled to take forceful action to defend itself – just as the United States or any other sovereign nation would do in that situation.

 

The loss of innocent lives on both sides is tragic, and we sympathize with all of those displaced by the conflict.

 

But there can be no moral equivalence between Israel and Hezbollah.

 

Israel goes to extraordinary lengths to minimize civilian loss, while Hezbollah deliberately targets the innocent.

 

Some argue that the Israeli response is “disproportionate.”  But, to quote from the National Review Online, “What would an exactly proportionate response be?  Kidnapping members of Hezbollah and randomly raining rockets on Lebanese cities?”

 

Mr. Speaker, this crisis underscores the importance of implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for the disbanding of all militias in Lebanon, including Hezbollah.

 

And it highlights, once again, the central role played by Iran and Syria in promoting terrorism throughout the Middle East – in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.

 

It’s extremely important for Congress to express our solidarity with Israel in these difficult times, and I urge my colleagues to vote “aye.”