Israel has pulled out of Bint Jbeil

[malaise]

I heard that on MSNBC. We know they suffered heavy casualties and tougher than expected resistance from Hizbollah. Word is that Hizbollah surrounded them.

Any other reasons for this glaring military failure? The question on MSNBC is have they underestimated Hizbollah. Has the Israeli army become to accustomed to fighting the weak Palestinians.

The dweep on MSNBC asked Arens if it would have been better if the IDF had used overwhelming force earlier. How much more overwhelming does she want as she sits in her airconditioned comfort?

Add.

[rockymountaindem]

1. I heard Israel withdrew

because they've decided to level that place from the air. Hopefully the IDF will learn from their setbacks in this campaign.

[Joanne98]

3. That's what I heard. Two generals on CNN said, it was the only

reason they would be pulling back.

[ananda]

4. I thought..

Israel withdrew because the place had been pretty much destroyed and it was time to move on.

[malaise]

5. I heard someone say that

Hizbollah aren't shooting rockets from there. EfuggingNOUGH death and destruction

[Joanne98]

6. It might be a fake out....Claiming victory while getting their ground

troops out of the line of fire.

[Mandate My Ass]

9. Oh, so the IDF isn't capable of disarming Hezbollah either?

I wonder if they'll apologize to the Lebanese for destroying their country for not doing what they themselves couldn't accomplish.

[theHandpuppet]

2. It means no one has learned the lessons of Iraq...

... or Vietnam, for that matter.

(sigh) All the death and destruction have only diminished the hopes for a lasting peace. I wish I could see a light of this nightmarish tunnel, but I just can't.

[TahitiNut]

11. ... or Algiers, for that matter.

:shrug: Too many killing toys must cause hubris. (Or maybe it's the opposite?)

[shadowknows69]

7. Hizzbollah and the whole muslim world by now probably

know that this may be the big endgame and Israel and the US's final move to establish complete dominance in the ME. These guys are all going to fight like it's their last stand because it probably will be. You would think Olmert would have learned from the Lebanese occupation and our giant clusterfuck in Iraq. You can't bomb an idealology away and you can't succesfully occupy a country you have unified against you.

[theHandpuppet]

8. And you know what the real irony is?

Look at the countries which have been invaded -- Iraq and Lebanon. The former, once one of the few secular governments in the ME and the latter, one of the few fledgling democracies.

[malaise]

10. Isn't that the truth

Just heard a military man on MSNBC say Israel did not want to commit the necessary ground forces because of stiff resistance. The other man said they will use air power but military man said they could not control the area with air power.

[Solo_in_MD]

12. Several Options

- They did what they set out to accomplish
- They were taking too many casualites and are going with airpower

Had they been surrounded or in any kind of serious tactical issue, artillery, and TACAIR (Cobras etc) would have been employed in to resolve the problem.

Somehow I don't think they are just going to leave an active pocket of Hezbollah standing. I'd bet on air strikes.

Most of the M$M is clueless about tactical ops, as the embedded program showed in Iraq...a few bullets overhead becones a life and death fire fight etc.