"We are walking with open eyes into our next war."

[Flabbergasted]

(From above....Pessimism of a senior Israeli official who made that comment on Aug. 13 was striking because he had just finished telling a group of security analysts brought to Israel by the American Jewish Committee that the United Nations-brokered cease-fire had achieved many of Israel's goals.


http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1300&dept_id=374730&newsid=17119325&PAG=461&rfi=9



But he had no illusions that this would represent anything more than a temporary halt in the fight between Israel and the Quartet of Evil seeking to dominate the Middle East - Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah.
The war wasn't a total loss for Israel. But it was far from a victory. Hezbollah lost more than 500 fighters as well as most of its medium- and long-range missiles and its bunker network in southern Lebanon, while inflicting scant damage on Israel. Israeli intelligence analysts are convinced that Tehran isn't happy about this turn of events because it was holding Hezbollah's rockets in reserve for a possible retaliatory strike if Israel or the U.S. hit Iran's nuclear weapons complex.
But rockets are easily replaced, and Iran and Syria will now undertake a massive effort to make good Hezbollah's losses, and then some.
From the perspective of the Quartet of Evil, this conflict demonstrated the power of their rockets to blunt Israel's military superiority. Antitank missiles inflicted substantial losses on Israeli armor and infantry. A cruise missile badly damaged an Israeli warship that didn't have its defensive systems turned on. And Hezbollah was able to keep firing hundreds of Katyusha rockets a day into northern Israeli right up until the cease-fire.
Israel had managed to defeat the terrorists' previous wonder-weapon, the suicide bomber, by walling off the Gaza Strip and West Bank. But a fence won't stop missiles. Israel will now be loath to retreat any further from the West Bank. Hamas, for its part, will have strong incentive to stockpile rockets in its Gaza redoubt and launch a "third intifada," as suggested by a columnist in the Hamas newspaper Al Risala.
Israel had hoped that this conflict would reestablish its deterrence, but, if anything, the unsatisfactory outcome will only embolden its enemies. The problem is that wars of attrition against fanatical jihadists who do not fear death and who hide among civilians negate to some extent the Israeli Defense Forces' superior firepower. Additionally, Iran, the ultimate source of terrorist money and arms, is too far away for effective Israeli retaliation

[Turbineguy]

1. They'll replace

those 500 fighters before morning coffee break.

[Barrett808]

2. Max Boot. Bah. n/t

[bemildred]

3. Max Boot

:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+
:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+
:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+

[MrPrax]

4. Not LBN

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. "the Quartet of Evil " - hmm - did the PNACers come up with that one?

.
.
.

Sure sounds like a variation of that so-called "axis of evil"

well, if there is a "centre" of evil - it be the USA - only nation that has nuked innocent civilians by the 100's of thousands

Not much wonder other countries want to have nukes to deter the USA from facilitating their greedy ways.

Ya think that the USA would have invaded Iraq if they thought for a second that Iraq had nukes?

No way

USA's "power" is just weapons,

certainly not having a decent respect for mankind or the environment . .

even the environment is fighting back

IF the USA does not succeed in its global domination quest,

The rest of the world will rejoice . .

And we will get another holiday, or an existing one renamed "Peace Day" - the day that the USA loses all power over the rest of the world

GAWD (Gawdesses too) - that's wishful thinking . . .

[IndianaGreen]

6. It probably came from a focus group

The only evil is Bush and his lapdog Blair. Olmert will get his due when he is ousted by an angry public, unfortunately the same public will embrace the fascists Bibi and his sidekick, the racist Liebermann.

Why do we always choose barbarism?