Artillery, rockets and tanks mass along the border

[bemildred]

BEHIND a protective canopy of trees an Israeli 155mm artillery battery fills the valley with gunsmoke and decibels, blasting 100lb shells northwards toward invisible targets across the Lebanon border.

A few miles away, another unit huddles beneath foliage, guarding hundreds of 4.5m (15ft) Texan-manufactured Haz rockets being readied to blow something or someone into pieces.

Artillery, rockets, tanks and Humvees are massing on Lebanon’s southern border as Israel reveals the true extent of its ambitions. It is determined not merely to punish Hezbollah, but to destroy it once and for all as a military threat.

Times Online

[hwmnbn]

1. That could be the final solution .....

to it's problems.

It is determined not merely to punish Hezbollah, but to destroy it once and for all as a military threat.

[joemurphy]

2. Good luck on destroying Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is fueled not just by Syria and Iran but by resentment over Israeli occupation of what was once Arab Palestine. You can disrupt Hezbollah with raids, bombs, and artillery, but you can't destroy what is essentially a guerilla movement powered by an idea. The raid will only e
engender more Arab resentment and all will be as before -- only worse. Hezbollah, it should be remembered, was founded by Islamic clerics in 1982 after an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon.

[hwmnbn]

4. That was my point, vague as it is.....

Germany's final solution didn't work. Neither will Israel's.

[cali]

5. Comparing Israel's desire

to destroy H'zbollah- futile as it is- with the final solution to exterminate the Jews and others in the Holocaust, is laughable. H'zbollah is a contemptible organization. And terrible as some of the actions Israel has taken are, the nation of Israel can't be compared to H'zbollah by any reasonable person. Israel is a nation of 6 million people, 1 million of whom are Arab minorities. It's citizens hold a wide array of views, some laudable, others repellant. H'zbollah is a terrorist organization whose zeal to deliberately target civilians is unmitigated by whatever social services they offer in Lebanon.

[hwmnbn]

12. The enmity involved in systematically attempting to .......

destroy a group of people and wipe them from the face of the earth is exactly the same, regardless of who is doing the destroying.

When you declare human death as a "solution", you have a bigger problem. And that's nothing to laugh about.

[DELUSIONAL]

7. That's what I've been reading -- so Hezbollah is a creation of Israel

-- due to their 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

Whatever replaces Hezbollah will probably be much worse.

Hamas was supposed to replace the PLO -- and now Hamas is considered far worse.

In the evolution of organizations -- Hamas will be replaced by younger gangs who could be much worse.

Isn't it better to deal with the devils that exist -- rather than creating conditions that might conjure up a new devil????

Hitting South Lebanon -- does this mean re-occupation of South Lebanon -- and does this mean theft of more land?? It would seem that the young gangs coming up might have something to say (and ultimately do) about Israeli occupation of what the Arab population considers Their land.

Sort of like the end of the movie "The Graduate" -- the bride pulled away from her wedding by the hero are sitting on the bus -- and the question of the audience 'Now What?' -- So the hero gets the girl -- and now what.

So what if Israel is "successful" and drives their old enemies out of Lebanon (created because of their last invasion).

So now what?? What about the civilians who have lived there for generations -- so Israel has another hostile population that they will have to wall up and keep pacified. Using OUR tax money -- they are already coming to the US to help pay for their war -- via a request for jet fuel -- which they will NEVER pay for -- why start that habit now??

To to civilians of South Lebanon and Lebanon -- Israel is the terrorists -- it all depends on just who is being terrorized.

[jwirr]

11. Like the Iraq war helped Al Quada recruit for their cause this will

help the Hezbollah recruit for their cause. What we did not learn the first time is going to repeat itself and maybe we will learn this time around.

[Solo_in_MD]

10. Thats not really possible

To date Israeli actions have been measured, thought out, and even reasonable (from their viewpoint). However, the last long term incursion into Lebanon was the crucible that made Huzbullah what it is today. I am surprised to see that they are planning to do it again.

There was a report that quoted CNN where the Head of the Lebanese Govt stated that Huzbullah had brought it on themselves. Not sure if it is accurate. If true it also reflects the reality the the national government in Lebanon was not in control in the south.

Finally, asymmetric warfare is a bitch. Israel is better at it than most in terms of effectivity, but it really is fighting terror with terror, which leads to hatreds which leads to bombings which leads to ki napping which leads to....

[Imajika]

3. Good...

"as Israel reveals the true extent of its ambitions. It is determined not merely to punish Hezbollah, but to destroy it once and for all as a military threat."

Excellent, hopefully Israel succeeds in wiping out Hizbullah. The world will be far better off.

[Violet_Crumble]

6. Israel doesn't have a very good success rate at wiping out anything...

I mean, they really showed they can do the job in the past when it comes to Hezbollah, right?

It should be clear to most folk that violence and bloodshed isn't the way to bring a group like Hezbollah down. In fact, the large number of civilian casualties these attempts bring would seem to me to have the effect of gaining sympathy for those groups from people who wouldn't have supported them before...

[DELUSIONAL]

9. exactly --

people will identify with the underdog --

Right now Israel isn't seen as the underdog -- I do believe that their victim card has been used up.

They have the greatest military power (and war toys) in the region -- plus they are a member of the nuclear club . . . THAT is no underdog or victim.

[PATRICK]

8. Jump-starting their

"partner's" war against their enemies. It looks alarmingly like Bush/Cheney are bobbling things things so bad the Iranian action- though on track and definitely on the mind of this absolutist inflexible coup team of ours- that the Israelis are doing their part in escalating things. That is definitely what they are choosing to do. ALL other explanations are possible but facile, weak. This is to kick Bush in the pants and get things started as the hard RW in Israel always intended. It MAY be or have been always a part of the Iranian scenario, simultaneously knocking down Syria, as a joint US neocon/Sharonist action.

Two crazies don't make a sane plan, but they do confuse things so that no sanity can handle it or interfere.