Guerrilla war beckons as Israel eyes land offensive

[uppityperson]

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-08-01T121808Z_01_L01473104_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml

sraeli political sources say the operation is intended to secure a 6-7 km (4 mile) swathe of southern Lebanon. But they say planners have ruled out moving north to the Litani River, 20 km inside the country and previously mentioned as a target.

The goal, military experts say, is not only to destroy as much of Hizbollah as possible, driving them north and preventing them from firing rockets into Israel, but also to create a sense of public success that has been sorely lacking so far...
(clip)
A village-to-village, town-to-town campaign across the width of the border and up into Lebanon's rugged hills, battling guerrillas all the way, will cost time and lives.

While not directly comparable, even the U.S. military with its 135,000 troops in Iraq has found it next to impossible to quell a determined insurgency there. Hizbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, is as well armed as any Iraqi militant force. That said, analysts believe sentiment in Israel is changing. Whereas once any loss of military lives was insupportable for the public, now there is more readiness to sustain casualties....(more@link)

[frylock]

1. these stupid fucks are going to get bogged down like we are in iraq..

all I can do is laugh, because the alternative is to crawl under my desk and cry.

[calimary]

3. I hear ya. And have you noticed that the new "hot" buzzphrase -

"nobody anticipated the strength of the resistance..." being bandied about here. Only difference, though, is - instead of "the US" you plug in the word "Israel", and instead of the "Iraqi insurgents" you insert "Hezbollah".

"Nobody could have predicted..."

"I don't think anybody could have predicted..."

"Nobody could have anticipated..."

It's the same shit. Probably because the chief perps here, for both countries, are "leaders" who never saw combat and have for-shit experience in actual military operations (other than bush getting his teeth cleaned on the Guard's dime).

[uppityperson]

4. yes, and how do you "win" a guerilla war?

[seafan]

2. ChannelNewsAsia: Fighting flares as Israel widens Lebanon assault

Fighting flares as Israel widens Lebanon assault

01 August 2006 2054 hrs

TYRE, Lebanon : Hezbollah guerrillas have fought pitched battles with advancing Israeli forces in Lebanon after Israel decided to widen its three-week-old offensive despite accelerating international efforts to broker peace.
Media reports said as many as 20,000 troops were pouring into Lebanon, where three soldiers were reported killed as clashes flared in several hotspots Tuesday along the border zone where Israel wants to eradicate Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected mounting pressure for a ceasefire despite an international outcry over an air strike on a village on Sunday that left 52 people dead, mainly women and children, in the bloodiest attack since Israel unleashed its war machine on Lebanon on July 12.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was due to hold talks with ambassadors from the five permanent Security Council members on proposals for a ceasefire that centre on the deployment of an international buffer force.
EU foreign ministers were also meeting to hammer out a common stance but the bloc is divided over whether to call for an immediate ceasefire in a conflict that has killed hundreds of people, and created a humanitarian crisis with hundreds of thousands displaced and much of Lebanon's infrastructure in ruins.

An Israeli official said troops were authorised to push up to 30 kilometres (19 miles) into Lebanon, an operation Defence Minister Amir Peretz said was aimed at creating "conditions on the ground for an international force."
Lebanese television showed pictures of soldiers and tanks massed at the border, where Israeli bulldozers have already started flattening Hezbollah positions to create a buffer zone.


snip

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whos regime is one of Hezbollah's main backers along with Iran, has ordered his forces to step up their state of alert.
"We must understand that every effort and each drop of sweat put into training now will save a drop of blood when the hour comes," Assad said in remarks reported in the Syrian press.
"The fight will continue as long as our land is occupied and our rights are violated," he added. "Victory will be ours, with the help of God."

snip

Facing international outrage over the killings in Qana, Olmert defiantly declared Monday that "there is no ceasefire and there will be no ceasefire in the coming days."
//snip
In Tehran, a senior figure in Iran's Islamic regime, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, called on Muslim countries to arm Hezbollah, the ISNA news agency reported.
"Muslim countries are expected not to deny Hezbollah and the Lebanese any kind of help, especially weapons, medicine and food," said Jannati, who heads the Guardian Council -- a powerful political watchdog in Iran.
The comments mark a break with Iran's usual position, which emphasises "moral support" only for the Shiite movement.

This is not going to end well. For any of us.

[calimary]

5. Dear God, every time we see these pictures on the news, I can't help

turning to my husband and saying "THAT'S the way to win their hearts and minds, isn't it?" (SARCASM)

[Little Star]

6. Guess Olmert told Condi!!! No cease fire this week babe!

[DinahMoeHum]

7. Sheesh, these people are as subtle as a herd of elephants

stomping along a muddy riverbank.

Easy pickings for insurgents.

Fuck.

:evilfrown: