Reply #5: You weren't listening closely. [View All]

[Igel]

The two hostages were part of the reason. But no more than that.

Taking Hezb apart was the explicitly stated reason. I heard more people saying the two soldiers were the real reason here than any place else--Israeli media, US MSM, or the overseas press. It's a straw man. Knocking it down is absurdly simple, but done frequently.

If it was only about 2 abductees (ignoring the other 8 soldiers killed and the katyusha bombardment that served as the distraction to assist in the abduction), then it was wildly disproportionate. If it was the last straw, the 'trigger', and Israel decided that rather than simply threaten with overflights or drop the occasional bomb it was time to deal with the longer-term problem Hezb posed--as evidenced by the occasional raid, the episodic katyusha bombardments, and the arms build up and entrenchment on the Lebanese side of the border, then the choice of targets makes sense. Disproportionate wrt the triggering attack, but not with the goal.