At the risk of bringing a world of idiotic comments upon my blog, the Israel - Hezballah problem is vexing in that it escapes easy solution. There is usually a point in litigation where both parties have expended so much money, the stakes of trial become diminished by comparison. Much is invested, financially and emotionally, and it becomes easier to follow through to a trial rather than step back from the brink. A sort of point-of-no-return. In Lebanon, that point has been reached. Its not as simple as "return the two soldiers" or "leave Lebanon and retreat to the blue line." Neither side is able to, philosophically or politically, just walk away.
I hate that Hezballah hides among civilians. First, it necessitates military operations in civilian areas. But, I also understand that when the military match is so disproportionate, guerrillas do what they have to do, and this is not an unusual or new tactic. Soldier for soldier, Israel would beat Hezballah. But, using guerrilla tactics, Hezballah can bleed Israel, just as the insurgency in Iraq bleeds American by killing 1 to 2 soldiers per day.
On the other hand, I hate that Israel exacts collective punishment against the people of Lebanon. Its one thing to take out the runways at the Beirut Airport and block major arteries in and out of Lebanon. When you are fighting an enemy and you have the chance to cut off its supply route (and remember, Hezballah does get its weapons from abroad), you can't just sit idly by and not make that move. Its another thing to strike neighborhoods and destroy building after building. Like the people in Israel who are suffering from indiscriminate Katyusha rockets strikes, people in Lebanon are suffering from not-so-precision bombing. The biggest difference is scale. Israel simple has the ability to bring a lot more damage on an opponent than vice versa.
The largest educational aspect of the Lebanon conflict is this though. We all knew that Hezballah had weapons. We know that guerrillas all over the world are fairly well armed to some extent or another. I think it was quite a different story to learn that a group we consider to be a terrorist organization actually has not just hundreds, not just thousands, but apparently over 10,000 missiles in its arsenal and can reign down this level of destruction. Remember - Al Qaeda used our own planes as missiles on 9/11, but was limited in size and scope by the number of hijackers. Hezballah has been firing between 100 and 200 missiles at Israel. Per day.
The biggest mistake Israel makes, besides when targeting civilians, is that it targets the Lebanese army. Without proof of collusion, what is the point? The US and Israel say that Lebanon must control its borders. Why attack the only force that has that capability?
That said, there must be a solution. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it is. In the current world climate, I fear that cooler heads will not prevail.
That said also, I don't think any other nation in the world would be expected to tolerate a private non-governmental-organization (NGO) such as Hezballah, sitting on its border, with the capability to nearly sink a warship, fire hundreds of missiles a day, and destroy parts of a city from 100 miles away.
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