Put away the long knives, and move forward--knives for the next war have already been sharpened.

That's right. The seesaw between armor and antitank weapon is now teetering toward the latter for the umpteenth time in modern warfare. When this happens one doesn't simply improve armor to address it, one improves tactics, and the principal means of keeping dispersed infantry from hunting tanks is with other infantry. That may have been part of Israel's problem, although I freely admit not to have seen any direct after-action reports yet and so have to propose that very tentatively.

As far as measuring this war (if you can call it that) a victory or defeat for either principal I'll abstain. Hezbollah lost every tactical encounter but remained in possession of the field. That's one classic definition of victory. More to the point, unless Israel planned to occupy the ground gained I am at a loss to discern any achievable objective at all. And despite the author's attempt to deflect the blame, going into an operation like this without an achievable tactical or strategic objective is a serious defect in leadership at the top level.

Take all of the above with a grain of salt, though. What looks clear from several thousands of miles away from the shooting usually isn't.

But hezbolah was bloodied. If it was a victory for them, it was a Phyric one indeed.

The problem with counting dead bodies and broken toys is that there are always many more, of both, where those came from. The propaganda victory of the hezzie-Assad-Iran axis dwarfs the bloody nose they got on the battlefield. Iran will be glad to train up a couple thousand more fanatical Myrmidons and replenish their weaponry.

There was, however, a great deal at fault in the army, and in the advice and assessments given to the government, and for that, neither the prime minister nor the new defense minister was to blame.

Of course they are, they wanted a PC war and they got it--and lost (from a certain point of view).

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