Posted on 08/06/2006 5:29:55 PM PDT by Shermy
The Israel Defense Forces plan to ramp up their offensive in Lebanon in response to Sunday's rocket attacks on northern Israel, which killed three civilians in Haifa and 12 reservists near Kfar Giladi.
A senior General Staff officer told Haaretz that for the first time since the fighting began, Israel plans to attack strategic infrastructure targets and symbols of the Lebanese government.
Other than bombing the Beirut airport to prevent arms transfers to Hezbollah, Israel has hitherto not targeted Lebanon's infrastructure, insisting that it is only at war with Hezbollah, not with the Lebanese government or people.
However, the officer said, "we are now in a process of renewed escalation. We will continue hitting everything that moves in Hezbollah - but we will also hit strategic civilian infrastructure."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz will meet with senior defense officials this morning to discuss the continuation of the operation.
... ...
If Hezbollah has not ceased its fire by this weekend, they added, the IDF will recommend an additional significant expansion of the operation, including the conquest of most of Lebanon south of the Litani River, including the area around Tyre, and a significant increase in air strikes on infrastructure targets. "It could be that at the end of the story, Lebanon will be dark for a few years," said one.
... ...
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
"Israel should take all water and electrical power throughout the country. Every government office and building should be destroyed beyond repair. Let them all run into to Syrai for protection, and then do the same to Syria. They will get the message, fast"
I have another idea: fight Hezbollah. Fight them into the
Bekaa valley, their stronghold.
OLmert's actions, especially the ones in this article if come true, will brand him a great coward. Arab fanatics will recount for years how they stopped the Israelis and Olmert/Jews were cowards for not fighting them but bombing Beirut.
Not looking good at all for Israel.
OK so please explain why the Germans and the Japanese stopped fighting and surrendered.
IDF has already raided the Bekaa valley.
How do you engage Hezbollah directly without collateral damage from the women and children they like to hide behind?
Not until you can tell me how to destroy a launcher with civilians protecting it?
"You keep mentioning some "trade" thing. Do you mean the ransom of the 2 IDF soldiers Hezbollah is holding? Just pay the ransom. Is that what you mean by "trade" wise guy?"
Uh, no. But, now that you mention it, Olmert did agree to a prisoner exchange for the fellow held in Gaza, Mubarak arranged that, but Hamas declined and the northern incident happened, all directed from Damascus.
When I meant trade I meant a variety of issues Olmert said needed to be discussed - land trade, lind mine maps, the laundry list of disputes.
Somehow the launch of missiles must be made impossible in the most surgical of ways. I made my suggestion. If there is a better approach to effect that, that is just grand. There may be many left to launch, but if no new ones come in, then there is light at the end of the tunnel. The key here is to make it very clear, that any region that allows its land to be used for missile launches, is fair game, and indeed must be pacified, in the most pacific way reasonably practicable, but pacified. That is the lodestar to any reasonable policy.
The crusades ultimately failed as well.
The only model that worked was the one the Israelites used against the Canaanites when the Israelites first entered the Promised Land. But I don't really think modern Israel has the stomach for it
"the crusades were the proper model for this" - They are to be conquered and forcibly [at the neck of a bottle, if need be] converted to Alcoholism.
Troops on the ground interdicting any new ones from coming in, is a light at the end of the tunnel approach. Lights at the end of tunnel are fantastic. I wish we had one in Iraq.
"IDF has already raided the Bekaa valley."
One little raid. That's not controlling land and terminating Hezbollah.
"How do you engage Hezbollah directly without collateral damage from the women and children they like to hide behind?"
Either by land or air. By air their will be more guaranteed civilian dead. By land more Israeli military dead.
Olmert has fears of Israeli mil. casualties and being "stuck" in Lebanon again. According to Isr. newspapers Peretz (not Pere"s") pushed for an attack to the Litani. Olmert thinks the UN and "diplomacy" will save him from this need. He is wrong.
So how does capturing all of Lebanon, Syria and Iran sound to you? That would solve the problem, but then you would be hollering about "occupation."
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Bombing Dresden did not do much vis a vis the Germans. Nuking the Japs did. I am sure nuking Beirut would change the equation. It would also be morally horrific, and unacceptable. Sometimes one must take causalities for the cause for decency. It is a judgment call of course. Too many around here don't try very hard to achieve a reasonable golden mean.
A military goal of Israel should be to destroy the military capability of its enemy(ies). Whatever in takes to do so is legit. You want to make in impossible for your enemy to have the capacity to conduct any military ops.
I don't have a problem with occupation, but at this juncture, interdicting Lebanon's borders seems to be adequate to the current problem.
Israel needs to stop the rockets AT ALL AND ANY COST...
' "It could be that at the end of the story, Lebanon will be dark for a few years," said one. '
When the populace generally supports Hezbollah, then a few weeks/months/years without electricity & running water should cure them of that support. It may take a while, it may not.
When terrorists make it to power with defacto support from the public at large (Gaza, Lebanon), thereby departing the civilized world, the amenities of the civilized world need to be promptly removed so that said public can reflect on their poor choices in hunger and darkness.
Eventually their thinking will become more rational.
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