Not long ago, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert delivered a speech in New York City to the Israel Policy Forum back calling the 2005 withdrawal of Israeli civilians from the Gaza Strip "a remarkable process ... that will have an enormous impact on everything that will happen thereafter, in the State of Israel and in the Middle East."

Olmert was, at the time, the Vice Prime Minister of Israeli behind former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and backed the Sharon-proposed withdrawal from the lands under claim by Palestine. It was a controversial move by the Israeli government that drew the ire of not only the Jews but the Christians, who argued that those lands were not Sharon's to hand over -- they were lands promised to the Jews by God Almighty.

Nevertheless, Olmert beamed that the move would help the clashes between the Jewish state and the rest of the heavily-Muslim Middle East, saying: "we don't have to wait anymore, that we really don't need the United States to lead the process in the Middle East. We will lead it because it's good for us ... It will bring more security, greater safety, much more prosperity and a lot of joy for all the people that live in the Middle East."

He continued, citing a tiring of the bloodshed that had befell the region since the Jewish state formed in 1947: "we are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies, we want that we will be able to live in an entirely different environment of relations with our enemies. We want them to be our friends, our partners, our good neighbors."

How much things have changed for Ehud Olmert in little over a year since he gave that June 9 speech not only for Olmert himself but for the region and the world as well.

Two days ago, Olmert stood before the Knesset, Israel's legislature. He was an older Ehud Olmert, a smarter Ehud Olmert and a fiery Ehud Olmert. "No more!" he cried, "There are moments in the life of a nation, when it is compelled to look directly into the face of reality and say: No more!"

The message had changed dramatically from the "if we back out of Gaza, our enemies could become our friends which would be great because we are tried" message he gave in New York.

But that was not the only fiery moment of Olmert's speech to the Knesset.

"And I say to everyone: No more!" he boomed. "Israel will not be held hostage - not by terror gangs or by a terrorist authority or by any sovereign state. [We are fighting for] everything that everyone in the enlightened world takes for granted and never imagined that they would have to fight for - the right to a normal life … We have no intention of giving up our desire to live a normal life. We will not apologize for this desire, and we do not need anyone's approval to defend ourselves."

Olmert refuses to back down in light of the detractors in the international community whose lack of support most likely stems from deep-seeded anti-Semitism or the increasingly popular left-wing support for anything anti-war.

He refuses to back down to the demands of Russian President Vladimir Putin who said that Israel "must immediately cease military action." After all, Putin is in such a place to bark out orders being the head of a country that has a history of terrorist-like operations and being a former KGB agent. Thanks but no thanks, Mr. Putin.

He refuses to back down to the demands of French President Jacque Chirac to put a stop to their operations for the purposes of redeployment because their assault on Hamas and Hezbollah is "totally disproportionate." Of course, Olmert is not a fool and knows his history - the French are in no position to give advice on military operations considering that the French have never won a war and were defeated most recently in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War.

He refuses to back down to the demands of Pope Benedict XVI, who is in such a great position to issue orders high atop his tower in the Vatican that no real military force would attack because it poses little strategic value. The Pope does not have to deal with the daily worry of having Hamas, Hezbollah or some other trigger-happy terrorist group launching rockets into the Vatican like Israel faces or moving in and kidnapping a member of his staff like what happened to the Jewish state not long ago. If he did, it could be assumed that his comments may be different than what they are now. And let it not be forgotten the wonderful Papal silence during the Holocaust of the Jews at the hands of Adolf Hitler's Germany during World War II. Apparently only when the Jews are the ones on the offensive will whoever the old fellow is speak his mind on their situation. I have nothing against the Pope except my being a Protestant and therefore not recognizing his position like Catholics do but the guy really needs to sit back and think about this situation a bit longer.

He refuses to back down to the demands of the United Nations and UN head Kofi Annan, who continues to rail against the Israeli offensive. Most of those on the Right in this country already know that the word "unnecessary" cannot be spelled without "UN" and hopefully Israel has begun to realize this as well. The UN is a useless collection of figureheads who further a radical agenda that diplomacy will solve every problem when in all reality, it doesn't. It is warm news to see that Olmert refuses to listen to that powerless organization.

He should even refuse to back down to the demands of the United States, who recently entered the fray of opinion on the situation when Bush told Israel that it had one more week to inflict maximum damage on Hamas and Hezbollah before the US would side with the calls for a ceasefire. He should pick up the phone, call Bush and inform the President that Israel will do what is in the best interest of Israel and if the President has a problem with it he can send troops to the Jewish state and stop their operations. Most Americans know for a fact that if that tough ultimatum were issued, Bush would retreat from his comments, allowing America's ally continue with the right course of action.

What is perhaps most disgusting is that the United States has not sent troops, naval units and a slew of aircraft to Israel, backing them up in this war on terrorist organizations and terrorist states. The opportunity is perfect for the US to begin operations in Iran and possibly in Syria, launching missile after missile into Iran, destroying the nation's nuclear weapons program and any other threatening targets to US and Israeli interests. Israel will do it if the US refuses to do so - they destroyed Saddam Hussein's nuclear power plant in Osiraq in 1982 and did not hesitate to invade Lebanon to place a serious hamper on terrorist operations in what was one of the world's largest terrorist havens.

It would not be necessary to send troops into Iran, who is perhaps one of the largest supporters of Hezbollah, nor would it be intelligent. One look at the history books will tell its reader that attempting to invade Iran is incredibly difficult - the Iraqis were nearly decimated trying to move into Iranian territory during the Iran-Iraq War during the 80's.

The opportunity is right there for the United States to eliminate two of the world's most dangerous terrorist organizations in Hamas and Hezbollah and the threat of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in the region from Syria and Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sees the moment right in front of him and he has reached out, accepting it. The United States should follow suit and if they don't, history will recognize it as a cowardly act by the US while Olmert and Israel will take the credit for crippling Hamas and Hezbollah while at the same time eliminating the threats from Syria and Iran.

(Photo Credit: http://www.glaubeaktuell.net/media/Nachrichten_Aus_aller_Welt/olmert.jpg)