Posted on 07/30/2006 10:24:10 PM PDT by jmc1969
The balance of power and terror that shaped the Middle East landscape until the latest Arab-Israeli war has shifted profoundly in favor of radical forces, to the detriment of Arabs and Jews alike — as well as America.
Israel's handling of its confrontation with Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon and Gaza has been hesitant and clumsy. Led by inexperienced Prime Minister Olmert and his incompetent defense minister, Amir Peretz, Israel failed to put enough boots on the ground when it mattered, early in the battle against Hezbollah, stripping the country of its most potent weapon: its aura of invincibility.
Worse yet, Mr. Olmert's ineptitude as a leader has opened a Pandora's box. Jihadis will now flock to attack Israel's newly perceived weaknesses in fighting guerrilla forces in Gaza, the West Bank, and along the border with Lebanon, further upsetting a precarious balance of power in a turbulent Middle East where the forces of radical Islam have now gained the upper hand.
Hezbollah's insanely reckless attacks on Israel, coupled with the terror group's ability to hold its own against a tentative Israeli military campaign for weeks now, have all but shifted conventional thinking on the Middle East, with dire consequences for the whole region.
Sunni countries, including Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, privately welcomed the Israeli campaign as a way to deal with their Shiite enemies and the Iranian-Syrian axis of influence. They have since been forced into an embarrassed silence as they watch Israel and its hesitant leadership get bogged down.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
Israel should take out Hezbolla, Hamas, Fatah, and every mosque within the combat radus of an F16 launched from Tel Aviv.
If the Hez-Ebola is still in existence when this is over it will be seen as a big victory for the terrorists. They'll win the next election easily in Lebanon and Iran will have its very own platform for a continued non-stop war on Israel with a 'legitimate' government there.
Just trying to get them into 40mm range.
I'm more thinking "Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, two nukes, and no more Palestinians, no more Hezbollah. That would be the "Pandora's Box", imho.
No more Israel as well...
(Gulp)
It may come to that if Iraq fails and the "West" doesn't wake up from its PC slumber. BTW it would be more than two nukes.
I had faith that Israel would do the right thing but now they seem to be bowing to the political pressures. They should have stormed in with tanks, artillery and overwhelming ground support. It would have ended in a few days. If Israel has gotten weak knees then there is no hope for the Middle East. Hezbollah will come out looking like the victor instead of the dead.
Thanks to the press, who will have spend decades working against US and Israeli power, the Islamic Cults have won another PR victory.
Add Damascus and Teheran to your list and I'll vote for you.
If nothing else, Nasrallah needs to be dead by the time this is all over. No quarter for that murderer.
Had Israel actually invaded Southern Lebanon, they would have taken heavy casualties but they would have driven Hezbollah back and would now be in a position of strength in negotiations. Given overwhelming internal support, not to mention the US green light, I can't understand why the government acted so timidly. War is won with captured territory not with precision bombing.
I wouldn't worry too much. The butcher's bill for Israel will reach a point where they will have to destroy Lebanon itself.
Yes, that would be a plus
I bet Hizbollah is cheering right now all while regrouping to fight harder. It's a shame!
Sure Israel needs to go to the Litani river. But that will not stop attacks on Israeli forces, it will just give more land to the IDF to defend.
Israel must attack Iran and Syria with enough force to make those two terrorist sponsoring countries decide that it is not in their better interests nor in the interest of any vision of "Islam" to continue helping the enemies of Israel.
Whatever form that Israeli attack takes ... is long overdue.
We should tie all the jihadis we catch to poles with panties on their heads.
I like your tagline.........I mean your tagline has a certain truth to it, I actually hate the fact though.
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.