[goldstategop]

The American Left would like to see Iran wipe us out. That is frightening.

(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em Down Hezbullies.)

[caver]

It's interesting that Mr Horowitz already has Israel losing the "war". I don't think I agree with him other that the part about a divided America.

[tonycavanagh]

What ever happens in Lebanon, both side will claim victory, but neither side will really win.

Israel is locked into a generational war of attrition, neither side has the means to win decisively.

There is only one place where this war is to be decided and that is Iraq.

If we can build a stable democratic relatively peaceful Iraq, then we will send a real message to the other two rogue states Syria and Iran.

At the moment they see us bogged down in Iraq, and if we cannot create a stable Iraq we are less inclined to go for a direct regime change in Syria and Iran, but if we do declare a victory there it will have the following benefits.

1) It is possible to directly enact regime change .

2)It will free up resources for the next stage.

And with the experience we have garnered we will not make as many of the same mistakes.

I would target Iran next, Syria will fall without Iran, and without Iran and Syria, the Palestinians Hezzballa and other terrorist organistions will have to come to the conclusion that the armed struggle is not going to last and they will have to find peaceful means with dealing with Israel

[butternut_squash_bisque]

If true, this is worrying me no end.

[saganite]

Unfortunately Horowitz is wrong. If we fail in Iraq and Israel fails in Lebanon the left will be able to claim victory. The sheeple won't take the time or devote the intellectual energy required to sort out the details. They will simply assume Bush and the conservatives were in charge and they failed.

[Obadiah]

The division of America is the greatest threat to our ability to prevail in the War on Terror – and the Left knows this and is incited by it. America is not divided enough for the American Left, which is now in full purge mode in Connecticut, where it is attempting to bring down the one statesman in the Democratic Party who might re-unite this country in the face of its enemies.

Al-Sadr, it should be noted, is alive and in the field because the appeasers in this country, beginning with the Democratic Party but extending into the Bush State Department, stymied the first battle of Fallujah when al-Sadr was trapped and could have been killed and his militia destroyed. The Bush administration had to delay the attack until after Kerry’s defeat in the November 2004 elections in order to avoid the political complications that would have attended the battle in the midst of an election campaign.

[plenipotentiary]

I hope I'm not giving away any secrets, but I see it a different way.

There will be war with Syria and Iran.

This operation is the first part of it, and it's objective is to secure Israels northern flank from infantry and Katusha attack from Lebanon.

Ultimately, an armed military UN backed buffer force will be inserted in South Lebanon. Any attacks on it will be seen as an attack on the UN. Hopefully, as many nationalities as possible will contribute. Those Nations will find it very difficult to withdraw their troops from a UN mandated mission. Hopefully Israel will be guaranteed security by the UN as part of it.

When this part is complete, the next stages will be the removal of Assad from the Syrian scene (by one means or another), and military action against Iran.

[Dionysius]

If we are to believe NPR and the other gleeful pollsters, Bush's effective presidency will end with the November election. Therfore he should take advantage of his time left to inflict maximum damage on our enemies before the cringing Democrats close the spigot.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.

also Keywords 2006israelwar or WOT [War on Terror]

----------------------------

[raybbr]

America is not divided enough for the American Left, which is now in full purge mode in Connecticut, where it is attempting to bring down the one statesman (Lieberman) in the Democratic Party who might re-unite this country in the face of its enemies.

Good grief. The leftist majority is so far left that people like Horowitz are bamboozled into thinking that a lib like Lieberman is a statesman.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

" It is Iraq, where Iran’s Shi’ia armies are already in the field under the command of the sheik of Sadr City, the America-hating cleric Moqtadar al-Sadr. Al-Sadr, it should be noted, is alive and in the field because the appeasers in this country, beginning with the Democratic Party but extending into the Bush State Department, stymied the first battle of Fallujah when al-Sadr was trapped and could have been killed and his militia destroyed. The Bush administration had to delay the attack until after Kerry’s defeat in the November 2004 elections in order to avoid the political complications that would have attended the battle in the midst of an election campaign."

I admire Horowitz very much, but I think he is wrong about Mookie's involvement in the battle of Fallujah. Mookie's thugs took over Najf and had to be extricated from the cemetery around the mosque. Fallujah was manned by Sunni extremists.

His general complaint that we should have done more about Mookie is good, but I think he is wrong on this point.

[randita]

There is no logistical reason why Israel should not prevail, but they can't do it from the air. Just like the U.S. has done in Iraq, it will require going door to door in southern Lebanon, routing out Hezbollah one by one.

Unfortunately, there would be lots of Israeli casulaties, just like we've suffered lots of casualties. Don't know if Israel has the stomach for it or if Lebanon would stand for it. But I'm convinced that's they only way Israel can win along this front.

[gridlock]

I don't see the Israelis backing down any time soon. They will be under intense diplomatic pressure, but that has always been the case. Until President Bush turns on them, they will stay the course. And it will be a long time before President Bush turns on them. Hopefully long enough for them to complete their task.

Any resolution that leave the Hezballoonians in place is a victory for terror. President Bush realizes this. I have confidence he will not make this happen. Hopefully my confidence is not misplaced.

[funkywbr]

Huh? I didn't know we/US were fighting in Lebenon?

[Matchett-PI]

A big time

[capitalist229]

A society of narcissists cannot appreciate the importance of preemption.

BUMP

[Finalapproach29er]

He's right.

What's the point of having a trillion dollar military without the will to use it?

[norton]

"Lest it be forgotten, this is a war that began with the Ayatollahs’ revolution in Iran in 1979 which established the first radical Islamic state whose masters’ war cry was “Death to America” and the establishment of a global Islamic empire. "

Admittedly, it's early Monday morning, but my reading tells me that he got all the way through the comment above AND an article about political divisions in America without mentioning Jimmy Carter once.

You'd have to work pretty hard to pull that off.

[visualops]

Those who in the midst of these wars clamor for ceasefires with an implacable foe, those who call for withdrawals that would leave sovereign states in the hands of the terrorist forces, those who decry civilian casualties caused by the only forces in this war who do not target civilians, those Blame-America-Firsters who exploit the Abu Ghraibs on our side and not their atrocities, those whose hysterical fear of the conflict we face takes the form of pathological denial and projects the rabid hatred of the enemy for us onto our own commander in the war, are destined to have a lot to answer for before this conflict is over.

Cannot be repeated often enough.

[The Sons of Liberty]

Olmert won't commit to a real war, so the Israelis are making "incursions" and pulling back. That plays right into the hands of terrorists, because it becomes a war of attrition. No matter how many of the insurgents you kill for every one of your losses, the insurgents come out ahead, because they don't care about casualties, either their own or innocent bystanders.

In the end, the Israelis will probably lose more men than if they'd pursued an aggressive plan. Also, they will lose the "public relations" war, regardless of how many more innocents the Hezzies were responsible for.