Quote Originally Posted by Schmedlap View Post
- Didn't Israel commit a mistake often deemed to be one of being overly "conventional" in that it was too heavy handed in striking targets in Lebanon?
It's not even that simple. The air strikes did massive damage to Hezbollah C&C, and logistics, but the ground forces were initially given VERY strict ROE, which is why smoke smoke and suppressive artillery fire was not used, initially at Wadi Saluki. The problem was not so much skills and drills, as the context of the plan, and the objective.
- Didn't Nasrallah publicly admit that he miscalculated the response of Israel and, in private, acknowledge that Hezbollah took unexpectedly high losses?
He did, and that is why Hezbollah didn't want to come to play in Round 2. In essence there is not much Hezbollah can ever do to Israel, which does not risk a more catastrophic multi-formation raid.
- Wasn't Israel's "loss" really a public diplomacy / perception management issue?
Well, that's all pretty subjective, but not wholly wrong either.
The concern about Hezbollah fighters actually showing some fighting spirit and skill seems less concerning than the fact that we were surprised by that performance and that we fear it. Not all wars are fought against an Arab army fleeing down a highway of death.
Correct. Additionally a lot of the early analysis of the Lebanon war was a product of Hezbollah information operations. Certain things were presented as fact, when we now know them to be wholly untrue. Unfortunately, some in the US Community continue to swallow these ideas whole. The fact that Hezbollah uses defensive concepts and ideas copied from Soviet Doctrine is simple not discussed because it does not fit fairy dust being sold.

Bottom line: Hezbollah are not a challenge, once you get the operational context and applications right.