The Israeli strategy appears to be to allow the UN deal to self-destruct. If the UN peacekeepers can disarm Hizbollah, fine. If not, Israeli ground troops will come back in and clear everyone out of southern Lebanon. At that point, it will be obvious that no one else is willing, or able, to deal with the outlaw “state-within-a-state” that Hizbollah represents. Hizbollah will still exist after being thrown out of southern Lebanon, and it will be up to the majority of Lebanese, and the rest of the Arab world, to deal with Hizbollah and radical Shias.
Hizbollah suffered a defeat. Their rocket attacks on Israel, while appearing spectacular (nearly 4,000 rockets launched), were unimpressive (39 Israelis killed, half of them Arabs). On the ground, Hizbollah lost nearly 600 of its own personnel, and billions of dollars worth of assets and weapons. Israeli losses were far less.
While Hizbollah can declare this a victory, because it fought Israel without being destroyed, this is no more a victory than that of any other Arab force that has faced Israeli troops and failed. Arabs have been trying to destroy Israel for over half a century, and Hizbollah is the latest to fail. But Hizbollah did more than fail, it scared most Moslems in the Middle East, because it demonstrated the power and violence of the Shia Arab minority. Sunni Arabs, and most Arabs are Sunnis, are very much afraid of Shia Moslems, mainly because most Iranians are Shia, not Arab, and intent on dominating the region, like Iran has done so many times in the past. Hizbollah’s recent outburst made it clear that Iran, which subsidizes and arms Hizbollah, has armed power that reaches the Mediterranean. This scares Sunni Arabs because a Shia minority also continues to rule Syria (where most of the people are Sunni). The Shia majority in Iraq, which have not dominated Iraq for over three centuries, is now back in control.
Hizbollah did enjoy a victory in its recent war, but it was over Sunni Arabs, not Israel.
At the cost of disagreeing with ET (with whom I often totally agree), I think this is a religious war – many in Israel do not want to see it as that. They prefer to think that the Arabs/Muslims hate them because of tribal land claims. A turf war rather than a religious war. But Islam is an ideology like Nazism is an ideology. Jew-hatred/infidel hatred is a core value of the ideology of Islam (it’s right there in the Koran), like superiority of the Aryan race was a core value of the ideology of Nazism.
They will not sit down and chat and comprimise on secure borders. Hopefully this latest episode has woken up more people in Israel and the West to this reality
ex-liberal – Israel has it’s share of pc multi-culti leftists and moonbats that have tied the government’s hands in the past. Carolyn Glick of the Jerusalem Post has addressed this problem. Face it, there are still plenty of American Jews in academia, the media and Hollywood that still aren’t getting it.
Islamist-fascists killing Islamist-fascists: Go to it, Mohammeds. The Mufti is pleased.
Commenter says:
“Reuters is working on the pictures of the Israeli tanks that killed this child.” (Sarcasm for Mufti.) …-
14-Year-Old Arab Boy Killed in Clashes Between Hamas and Fatah
Arutz Sheva – IsraelNationalNews ^ | 8/16/6
Clashes broke out today in Khan Yunis at the funeral of an armed man who was killed by IDF fire. As a result, a 14-year-old boy was killed and four other people were wounded in the clashes, which were between supporters of Fatah and Hamas near the home of the dead terrorist’s family. The fighting took place less than a week after the two organizations reached an agreement to cease all violence between them. …-
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1684904/posts
Jeez, If the Hezzies are calling this a victory, I’d hate to see what they call a defeat…
I agree. Isreal only has to bide its time. The Hezzies cannot function in a civilized manner at the best of times. Not being able to carry out there savage drive to kill and maim will push them into a martyr frenzy.
ET: the fact 1812 came before 1867 is irrelevant; the fighting was on the same land mass by people some of whom were still alive in 1867.
the point stands and is emphasized by the fact WE CANADIANS didnt even have to formally exist and we STILL pasted the yanks at their own game.
for the yanks, 1812 was an offensive effort and failed; for Canada a.k.a. ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ CANADA (read a history book) it was a defensive effort and succeeded.
and our win record is still umblemished, the fact it is within alliances in irrelevant; we pick out alliances only with correct causes including ALL that you list, unlike the oil gluttonous yanks.
Philanthropist, 11.22am suggests bringing pain directly to tehran and Damascus.
Several others comment in a similar vein.
Encouraging to see more people seeing beyond Hezbollah and going to the head of the snake.
Iran can not be allowed to go unpunished while they sacrifice the blood of misguided Lebanese.
Nasrallah promises to pay for new homes and highways. Sure, as long as Lebanese don*t mind choking down more IDF bombs and rockets. Wise up Lebanon.
The time has come to shit on Iran*s clean carpets. = TG
Can you just imagine this scenario, the Hisbollah go in as they are now and do all this “humanitarian” work “rebuilding” Lebanon with 15 thousand blue helmeted “peace keepers” guarding them. They rebuild a few houses. All this while the Western media, france, a few other useful idiots to the mussie cause as well as the UN are all running around licking each others behinds in self congratulatory mode that they have secured a lasting peace.
In reality all that has happened is the Hisbollah that caused all the destruction in the first place are resupplying and fortifying their offensive and defensive positions under the guise of rebuilding and with the protection and more than likely the compliance of the UN. In a couple of years down the road with the UN imbedded with the terrorists imagine what it will be like for Israel to defend itself? But then, doesn’t that seem to be the intention of the UN, and “others”?
My gut feeling is that Israel should tell the UN and the rest of the leftern world to go to hell and finish the job. Finish it with several cruise missiles down the throats of Damascus and Tehran. Finish it this time for their sake and ours.
I have to agree with those that say the Hisbollah won this round. They won because they completely out flanked and out maneuvered the West in public opinion.
Well, everyone will have their view and you make turn out to be right, but does that require hundreds of words? A shrewd old solicitor I once knew used to say that in reporting an outcome to a client, if you have more than one sentence, that is a mistake and should be set aside. It does look like Hezbollah blew the doors off the Israeli PR fortress for once and all, while today’s pix in the Globe and Mail of two former men-with-a-gun furiously wielding brooms in the streets of an Arab town, kinda says there is a new kid on the block in this the day of the media, and he is running the Israelis into the ground. Could not happen to a nicer bunch of guys. Really.
helping with a broom?
why do all Arabs remind me of teenagers.
they throw a party, have hells angels show up, wreck the house and then as penance sweep the floor. meanwhile the drywall, the doors and the windows are broken, all the neighbours are disturbed and the police are on their way. no control and no idea of consequences when they start the whole mess.
anyway the fickle MSM is no better, they seem to have forgotten that the broken houses are missle launch sites.