A New Enemy Gains on the U.S. ("It abides by no laws of war")

NY Times ^ | 7/30/06 | Thom Shanker

[frankjr]

POUND for pound and pounding for pounding, the Israeli military is one of the world’s finest. But Hezbollah, with the discipline and ferocity of its fighters and ability to field advanced weaponry, has taken Israel by surprise.

Now that surprise has rocketed back to Washington and across the American military.

United States officials worry that they’re not prepared, either, for Hezbollah’s style of warfare — a kind that pits finders against hiders and favors the hiders.

Certain that other terrorists are learning from Hezbollah’s successes, the United States is studying the conflict closely for lessons to apply to its own wars. Military planners suggest that the Pentagon take a page out of Hezbollah’s book about small-unit, agile operations as it battles insurgents and cells in Iraq and Afghanistan and plans for countering more cells and their state sponsors across the Middle East and in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

To attack Israel, Hezbollah dispersed its fighters with no distinguishing markings or uniforms or vehicles. Fighters access the weapons only at the moment of attack, and then disappear. This makes preventing the attack all but impossible. It is a significant modernization of classic guerrilla hit-and-run tactics. Israel has been unable to significantly degrade the numbers of rockets because of this approach. Hezbollah fired more than 100 a day at the start of this conflict; they are still firing more than 100 a day, despite Israeli bombardment.

Hezbollah still possesses the most dangerous aspects of a shadowy terror network. It abides by no laws of war as it attacks civilians indiscriminately. Attacks on its positions carry a high risk of killing innocents. At the same time, it has attained military capabilities and other significant attributes of a nation-state.

[F105-D ThunderChief]

"Plus when a terrorist is killed wearing street clothes, Hezbollah gets the benefit of media propaganda when CNN reports it as another "civilian" killed."

How has terrorists cowering in the midst of a civilian population become acceptable? No UN Security Council condemnation about that!

[johnny7]

More than likely, they are close to exhausting their supply.

Hard to tell... but even a couple hundred sorties a day can't keep replenishment arriving from Syria. Syria and their big brother Iran are the real enemy... and until these pestholes are fumigated... there will never be peace.

[ketelone]

Yuu try and refuse being under the 'protection' of someone weilding an AK, when yore unarmed, and have a wife, kids, and home to think of.

[calex59]

The times, making the news to fit their viewpoint. How do they keep coming up with this BS? Hezbullsh** is winning and "taking Israel by surprise"? We will see what happens at the end of this little dust up. Israel has only committed about 25 percent of their forces to this war and Olmert needs to really go all out if he expects to actually pulverize them but as far as being beaten as the NYslimes would have you believe, this is pure BS.

[AndrewB]

Why can't we make out "finding" efforts easier by using drones to unleash huge amounts of sleeping gas over swatchs of Lebanese territory, to render every person unconscious for 6-20 hours

The Ruskies already tried something like that. Didn't work out so well.

[sgtbono2002]

You have it Duckman. These guys cant wait to die their lives are so friggin miserable under Islamic laws they believe in an after life thats better. When you kill them you do them a favor. You cant compare that with the lives of people who believe in love and life.

When the doctor cuts a cancer from your body he also cuts a lot of healthy cells and tosses them out. Fighting Islamic whacko's unfortunately has to be done the same way.
Islamic want us dead. There is no such thing as an innocent Islamic no matter what clothes he is wearing.

[wita]

Or, as in this case the NYTimes. This article is meant to do one thing only, place the military of Isreal and the US in a negative light, while boosting the vision of Hez. Woodshed way past due.

[hellbender]

Although Hezbollah fights as a guerilla force, they get their weapons and other material from conventional nation-states who manufacture the rockets and ship them to the Hezzies. It seems to me the only way to defeat them is to go beyond Lebanon and deal with Syria and Iran. That in fact is what Bush once promised to do: take the war to any nation which supported and sheltered terrorists.

[YOUGOTIT]

And the New York Times will provide the terrorist all of the Secret data necessary to carry out the strikes against Americans.

[Peelod]

Why is ANY building south of the Litani still standing?

Only rodents, cockroaches and microbes ought to be permitted.

[Wolfie]

Tell the civilians they'll stop dying in large numbers when they stop supporting the terrorists. Hiroshima wasn't a surgical strike.

[Recon Dad]

There game is to wear down democracies. They know that we respond to our populations and if they just wait us out they win. We don't have the stomach anymore for protracted conflict.

[YOUGOTIT]

"this war will soon reach a point where the Hezbollah civilian population centers will have to be destroyed to ferret out the terrorist-tactic fighters who hide amongst their people."

As was the case in Nazi Germany, Tojo's Japan and Fascist Italy. Although we held back in Italy since the population decided to take matters into their own hands and kill the dictator.

History has been forgotten when one says civilians cannot be killed in total war. Civilian deaths are not avoidable in total war unless one wants to lose and come under control of the terrorist or governments who are making the war.

We are at war with a group that will only be defeated by total elimination or we all convert to Islam. It would seem that we have US Senators who want to lose this war and have some misguided thoughts that they will be in charge when the Mullahs will be in command. The terrorist do not care how many civilians they kill or are killed because they are cowards that hide behind women and children. The American people must come to understand that to win this war and protect our culture and freedoms the enemy must be eliminated from the face of the earth. People who are not involved will be killed because of the tactics of the terrorist enemies of civilization. To keep our freedom and culture that is the cost of war.

[montag813]

The Ruskies already tried something like that. Didn't work out so well.

I am familiar with the Opera house gas. It was a very unfortunate choice of weapon. There are a half dozen better alternatives. And I would even prefer the use of that gas, instead of sending troops in harm's way to go house-to-house, as we did in Fallujah.

[VOA]

Plus when a terrorist is killed wearing street clothes, Hezbollah gets the
benefit of media propaganda when CNN reports it as another "civilian" killed.

I was shocked when Anderson Cooper on CNN did expose a bit of the
terrorists mendacity.
On Friday night, CNN had "a day in the war" over an hour.
Cooper got into South Beirut with his crew. The Hizbollah got him
(and lots of other news crews) to come to an area where all the
ambulances for Hizbollah were lined up...
so that the cameras could capture the horror of these ambulances (with no patients
inside) roar off with their sirens wailing.
Completely staged photo-op and Cooper did say that it was a staged event
done by Hizbollah to promote their image.

I guess CNN occassionally tries to get people to forget their
softened stories from Iraq (for access to Saddam's people for stories).

[fortheDeclaration]

There game is to wear down democracies. They know that we respond to our populations and if they just wait us out they win. We don't have the stomach anymore for protracted conflict.

That is exactly what the Nazi's and Japanese thought also.

Never underestimate the U.S. resolve.

We lasted 8 years in Vietnam and left South Vietnam an intact nation.

The Communists only took over because of Watergate, a weakened Presidency and a Democrat controlled Congress, not because the American people gave up.

That has been the Media spin since the fall of Saigon.

[Panzerfaust]

"United States officials worry that they’re not prepared, either, for Hezbollah’s style of warfare..." The Hezzies train all their life to die, US trains to live and go back home to their families. How does one prepare for that? IMO

You simply train the US soldiers to facilitate the early death of the Hezzies.

[Farmer Dean]

The enemies belief in death should make him somewhat careless on the field of battle.This is a weakness we can exploit-a skilled sniper should be able to cause them some real problems for example.

[Stallone]

In order of priority:

1. Destroy Liberal Media;
2. Bomb Anything That Moves.

Next...

[G Larry]

Why isn't Israel flying drones over Lebanon to detect and preemptively destroy the terrorists as they aim their weapons?