Free Republic

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...

The thing that most impressed Capt. Yisrael Friedler, commander of A Company in the Golani Brigade's Battalion 51, during the bloody battle in Bint Jbail on Wednesday, was the way the junior commanders conducted themselves after their officers had been hit by Hizbullah gunfire. "The moment their officers went down," he told The Jerusalem Post Thursday, "the sergeants took their radios and began reporting in and managing the battle, while at the same time taking charge of evacuating the wounded. It was the height of professionalism," he said. The firefight began early in the morning when two companies, A and...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 7/27/06 - Beirut, Bint Jbail, Lebanon, Byblos, Cairo, Dushanbe, Fassuta, Israel, Gaza City, Haifa, Khiam, Kiryat Bialik, Mogadishu, Multan, Nabatiyeh, Paris, Pittsburgh, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Soer, Tehran, Tyre, Zefta BREAKING: Khiam - Precise Israeli air retaliation against missles coming from UN-protected terrorists "safe" house BREAKING: Beirut - Jordanian military planes arrive BREAKING: Soer - Precise Israeli air retaliation BREAKING: Tyre - Precise Israeli air retaliation BREAKING: Tyre - UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) ordered to remain in place as human shields by Annan BREAKING: Zefta - Precise Israeli air...