Posted on 07/31/2006 7:57:13 AM PDT by SmithL
JERUSALEM -- Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared victory on Saturday after Israel announced it was withdrawing its forces from the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbail, where Israeli troops found unexpected difficulty in dislodging the guerrilla group from its strongholds.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev defended the decision to pull troops from Bint Jbeil, saying Israel had never intended to occupy the town, but Nasrallah's quick declaration of victory underscored the propaganda gains Hezbollah is reaping across the Muslim world as it battles Israel to a stalemate.
"The Israelis are ready to halt the aggression because they are afraid of the unknown," Nasrallah said in a speech in which he also expressed measured support for the Lebanese government's efforts to reach a peace agreement.
The comments came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Jerusalem for the second time in six days. Rice expressed modest optimism over a proposed political solution that includes deployment of a roughly 15,000-member international force to Lebanon.
On the 18th day of fighting, Hezbollah fired more than 90 rockets into northern Israel, wounding about a dozen people. Israel continued its bombing campaign, striking near the Syrian border in one instance and in another dropping bombs near a U.N. observation post. Two Indian peacekeepers were wounded in that strike, just days after another Israeli air strike killed four U.N. observers.
Rice held a one-on-one dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but U.S. officials declined to offer word on their talks.
During a flight from Malaysia, where she had been attending a meeting of Asian foreign ministers, Rice told reporters that "there are a lot of elements that are coming together" but declined to say when she thought an agreement would be reached to end the fighting.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Hezbollah knows how to play the world. Show dead children to get the world to urge Isreal to pull out. Then when they pull out, claim 'victory' for all their nutbags that follow them.
Matter of fact, it's right out of the terrorist playbook.
Exactly! It was a case of "Read My Lips, Knew We'd Relaxes" from the man who represents the only mistake Ronald Reagan ever made.
Israel needs Netanyahu now!
I'm not so inclined to fault Bush 41.
He was fighting his own administration, in particular Colin Powell, as well as Congress and a coalition that wouldn't allow him to go any farther than we did.
I just think it was a huge mistake that allowed innocent people to pay for with their lives.
It depends upon their objectives. If they are trying to hinder Israel, collaborate with Hezbollah and act as human shields, they are in exactly the right place.
I am not being sarcastic. I think that these are the goals of the UN as administered by Kofi Annan, and he is executing on them effectively.
The Israeli government will fall in months, if not weeks.
Bottom line in all of this is Israel is not looking to hold territory. They are looking to clean out the RATS nests.
Why a formidable military force like Israel has leaders who are reluctant to wage war and destroy an inferior enemy is beyond me? What are they worried about? Israeli soldiers casualties? What is Israel tolerance for dead soldiers, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200…? Israel who is surrounded by enemies who live just to see the Jews in Israel thrown into the sea must toughen up and accept a unlimited number of casualties in order to win a war.
anything less than the extermination of the Hez-Ebola virus is a victory for terrorists in their eyes
You know, I've been here (first lurking) since 1997 and I've never figured out why the name "Bush" always gets a free pass on FR...I can only presume that if your name is Bush, FR means "FREE from RESPONSIBILTY". Powell? Congress? Just whom was the commander in chief? And where is the buck supposed to stop?
We're currently in the slop of Iraq with brave men and women dying every day click here because George Herbert Walker simply lack the resolve to do what needed to be done during his term. Had he had done so, we would have a free Iraq and a mighty damn big foothole in eliminating Islamic terrorism.
And had he done that do you seriously think the 'coalition of the willing' would have just stood by and let it happen?
Not hardly.
Olmert probably believed in peace talks with the Arabs when the only thing they understand is brute force.
Which president have we had that wasn't?
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