I have several thoughts on the article you provided the link to, however, before beginning I should explain that my Christian faith profoundly influences my perceptions of the Israeli/Arab conflict. Evem if not for my Christian faith, I would still be very pro-Israel but I might not be as passionate about as I am.

1.) There never has been any doubt in my mind that Israel could defeat Hezbollah. The only question I had, from the beginning, is would Israel have enough time. I suspected the US would run interference for them for some time, however, given the current political realities, the ability and the willingness of the US to run this diplomatic interference is finite. In an ideal situation I would have liked to see the US run diplomatic interference indefinitely, however, barring divine intervention the ability of the US is limited in this regard.

2.) If Israel wanted to obliterate Lebanon, the Israeli Air Force could do so in less than 24 hours. Hezbollah would be completely destroyed. This would involve the kind of massive bombardment that was done to Dresden and Tokyo during WWII. Both the Israeli and American Aif Forces are significantly more powerful than any thing the Allies had during WWII. Neither Israel nor the US want to destroy Lebanon. With this is in mind, the only option Israel has is a sugical air campaign designed to strike terrorist targets and to follow it up with a massive ground campaign.

3.) From the article, it appears Olmert may have wanted a limited war. This seems to be exactly the kind of war that Donald Rumsfeld and company wanted for Iraq. Wars are not won that way. I would have thought the Israeli civilian leadership would have learned something from watching the Coaliton effort. The bottom line is both Israel and America seem to have under estimated the power of their enemies.

4.) Hezbollah is arguably the most powerful terrorist organization on earth. This organization’s fighting ability is probably greater than the fighting ability of the armies of many countries, however, if the Israeli government allocates the time and the resource to the IDF the IDF would defeat them, as Israel has one of the top armies on earth. In addition, this is a terrorist organization of global reach.

5.) Given that neither Israel nor the US want to completely obliterate Lebanon, the only option is the current campaign of surgical air strikes designed to limit the capability of Hezbollah to fight. This is to be followed by a massive ground invasion that features overwhelming force.

6.) It can be argued that Olmert was slow to commit the ground forces. If Olmert really thought this could be achieved with a limited war, this is very troubling. Any number of mistakes were probably made. This happens in all wars. Humans can and will make errors. The important thing is do we learn from the errors we made.

7.) As you probably know, Israelinsder is a very pro-Israel source. They provide an excellent counter to the msm who ranges from anti-Israel to neutral. This web site seems to be very informative. That said, I’m highly skeptical that anyone seriously believed they could fully defeat an enemy as powerful as Hezbollah, short of destroying the entire country in only 10 to 14 days. If they truly believed this, this would seem to be hubris in the extreme.

8.) Given the standard bombing campaign and a ground campaign, the IDF would probably need a minimum of six months to do this job right. This is, if we assume everything went perfect. If the operation runs into snags, as almost all human endeavors will, it would probably take longer. I have no doubt the IDF would win. It just takes the will of the leadership and the citizens to see it through to the end.

9.) Instead of a coup, if the the IDF leaders are unhappy, they should run for office. Also, they should try and keep a lid on all of the sniping. If this enemy even percieves weakness and disension, this will only embolden them.

Israel is waiting for Assad. Assad refuses to engage. So, even Bolton, at the UN, is pushing the ‘pause’ button.

And, the pilots in the air force get a chance to rest. They’ll be back. And, it’s not going to be a foot race, or a foot war. It’s gonna blast syria’s position. Which brings in the iranians. Who don’t want engagement, either. Since “engagement” means bringing in the USA.

You can read the news anyway you like. But angering air flyers, (flying pedestrians), is about as dumb as the muzzies can get. People won’t react in fear. They won’t react in panic. But they’re getting very, very mad.)

Which means the wall calls, when they go out in the West, will have support.

But it won’t happen in the summer. I’ll bet the “engagement” gets real in the Fall. And, Olmert, ahead, comes out as a genius.

Bibi, if there were new elections, might hope to gain a seat or two. But even there, I see his timing as “off.” The settlers, again, can be counted on not to unify the whole country. Just taking advantage. Yelling FIRE in a crowded war theater. Even if you don’t smell the backfire, it works like a boomerang.

How can anyone get bored with all the Middle East news in one place?My theory that Israeli indecision is actually psy-ops? I am doubting myself after reading this [URL=http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archives/2006 …

What do you make of this?