Loss to Hizbullah?

Submitted by Archimedes2 (Canada), Jul 21, 2008 at 18:17

On what basis can you speak of Israel's "defeat to Hizbullah in 2006"? I watched that one closely, and I would say Hizbullah's butt got kicked on the battlefield -- this is IN SPITE of the enormous operational restrictions put on the IDF, the continual barrage of missiles, and the way the UN "forces" just allowed Hizb to rebuild all the bunkers and so on that the IDF had destroyed. And Hizb's free pass to committing any number of war crimes, with complete impunity, while Israel was held accountable for everything it did, and a number of things it actually didn't do. The IDF proved that at any time they can walk through Lebanon and take out Hizb positions like a hot knife through butter.

They could do the same tomorrow. So military-wise, this was a pure victory. Where they lost, if you can call it that, was in the media war and in the UN, where the moral propriety of Israel's military response was never openly acknowledged. What Israel has lost is it's ability to use its moral high ground to strategic advantage. This is a terrible failure of Israeli press, Israeli public relations, and the worldwide Zionist movement.

If Israel lost, it was not to Hizbullah, but to a consortium of political and propagandist interests scattered throughout the west, and the "Islamic bloc" and its recently discovered ability to play the victim card to great advantage in the international arena. So there was a battle that Israel lost in 2006. But it was not to Hizbullah, and it was not on the ground. I'd like to see the 2006 war replayed, but this time with some intelligent tactics by Israeli public relations and political minds. It should have been another lopsided victory, but instead it was a victory with sand in the eyes and a bitter taste in the mouth. My thoughts, at least.

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