Posted on 07/18/2006 2:54:50 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
JERUSALEM: One week after the humiliation it suffered in a Hezbollah cross-border raid in which eight soldiers were killed and two captured, Israel senses one of its major military and political victories is within reach.
The stunning campaign it has waged against Hezbollah has reportedly brought the militia to a point where it is willing to discuss Israel's major demand - that it pull back several kilometres from the Israeli border, perhaps to the Litani River.
Reports from Beirut yesterday said that Hezbollah officials had declared readiness to discuss the pullback proposal as well as a ceasefire with Israel but were not willing to discuss Israel's demand that it disarm.
For six years, since its hasty pullback from Lebanon after an 18-year occupation, Israel has been harassed by Hezbollah, which set up posts flying the organisation's yellow flag a few score metres from Israeli military posts all along the border.
What made Hezbollah more than a nuisance was the fact that it was a forward outpost for Iran, which armed and trained its fighters and used them as a strategic threat against Israel.
The huge missile arsenal Tehran sent to Hezbollah - 13,000 missiles, according to Israel - was intended primarily as a deterrent against Israel should it contemplate an airstrike against its nuclear facilities.
To respond heavily to a Hezbollah provocation could bring down a rain of missiles on Israel's cities. Surprisingly, it was an Israeli leader without a significant military background, Ehud Olmert, who decided to take on Hezbollah and pay the price.
More than 1000 missiles have struck Israel in the past week but the Israeli public overwhelmingly calls on the Government to continue pressing Hezbollah.
Hezbollah and Iran now find themselves with a deterrent that no longer deters. They also find much of Hezbollah's infrastructure shattered and many of its leaders, including clerical leaders, killed in the air attacks.
Furthermore, neither the Arab world nor the international community is prepared to stop the pummelling. Israel has not moved ground forces into Lebanon and would prefer not to since casualties are likely to be high.
But if the continuing air, artillery and naval attacks are not sufficient, it clearly will go in.
Israel's victory over Hezbollah, if such it proves, is also a victory against militant Islam that maybe followed up in the confrontation with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
There is still a possibility that long-range missiles will hit Tel Aviv before a ceasefire is achieved, but Israel has made clear it is willing to pay the price.
And thankfully Israel does not have to suffer from Saddam's scuds he launched into Israel in '91.
Kill them all.
L
Somebody should tell the dodo bird that theory.
Olmert won't do that.
While Hezbollah would be badly beaten, they'll claim this is a "victory" since the "zionists" refuse to go into Lebanon and clean up of its Hezbollah infrastructure.
We'll hear from Hezbollah again in the near future.
nor do they have to suffer from the back-stabbing liberal hypocrites that we have in America....
In five years we'll be back to where we were last month, only Iran will then have the bomb.
Roughly 10 American Divisions sitting where Saddam's SCUDs would have come from, between Israel and the Iranis? Priceless.
The mission shall NEVER be accomplished, until Hezbollah finally renounces its intentions of total annihilation of every Jew in the Middle East.
Israel DOES have a right to exist. This has been established over and over again. The Israelis have been most excellent stewards of the land, something the Arabic nomads neglected for the better part of a couple thousand years.
Hezbollah and Iran now find themselves with a deterrent that no longer detersOh, doesn't that suck for them. Now Iran has to worry again about Israeli air-strikes.
If they can convince Nasrallah to give up violence, the Israelis think he would make a fine president for Lebonan and his terror troops a fine army to patrol the border with Israel. /SARC
Course we will. This is only jezzballah in Lebanon. They're alive and well in Iran and Syria, no matter what the IDF does in Leb.
And what of Islamic Jihad? Haven't heard from them yet.
I would offer to allow them to escape as long as they took all of their weapons, convoyed them up, and transported them along a rural road northward.
Then, when the convoy was sufficiently uncovered, I would do a repeat of the Iraqi "road to Bagdhad" from 91 and not leave anything but smoldering bodies.
A-10s - Git er done!
If I was Israel, I;d let the Hezzies deplete their arsenal. At this point, they've shot off over 1000 and have killed 20 or so Israelis. At that rate, their whole stockpile would get about 250. While that's a lot, in the long run, it's worth it to totally destroy the hezbollah.
The IDf hasn;t really brougt out the big stuff yet either.
Resume firing...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.