[Polybius]

I don't think Israel wants to occupy Lebanon again because that's what it would take to keep the Hezzies from coming back.

Israel needs to treat southern Lebanon as if it were a giant crab trap.

You bait the trap. The crabs come. You trap the crabs. The crabs die. You rebait the trap. The crabs come. You trap the crabs. The crabs die. You keep rebaiting, trapping and killing until crab season closes when there are no crabs left.

[John Lenin]

Efraim Inbar

The last time Israel invaded Lebanon, it left scars that fed extremism in the region. Why does this not appear to be a consideration in the present offensive?

I’m not sure it's Israeli action that fuels extremism in the Arab world. It is primarily the failure of the Arab states to gradually make the transition to modernity, which creates social and political problems that lead to extremism. Islamic extremism is home grown.

The Israeli occupation of South Lebanon helped to establish Hezbollah, but in my view it was a secondary factor because there was already a certain measure of radicalisation within the Shia community before Israel arrived.

Hezbollah is now a much greater threat than before and we have to deal with the immediate threat rather than future concerns.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/010676D6-1F09-456F-8C16-6BD44499A644.htm