Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
b.) Anyone who has studied the conflict is very aware that there was no real strategic objectives set by Israel, and that presented real operational problems in terms of formulating military action.
Okay, I'm confused here. I recognize that the war was executed without much logical coherence, but I thought (based on English-language research only) that the goals were pretty clearly articulated on the Israeli side. Cordesman lists them as:
1) Destroy the Iranian Western Command before Iran could go nuclear.
2) Restore the credibility of Israeli deterrence after the unilateral withdrawals from Lebanon in 2000 and Gaza in 2005, and countering the image that Israel was weak and forced to leave.
3) Force Lebanon to become and act as an accountable state, and end the status of Hezbollah as a state within a state.
4) Damage or cripple Hezbollah, with the understanding that it could not be destroyed as a military force and would continue to be a major political actor in Lebanon.
5) Bring the two soldiers the Hezbollah had captured back alive without major trades in prisoners held by Israel—not the thousands demanded by Nasrallah and the Hezbollah.

Is this incorrect?