Quote Originally Posted by MattC86 View Post
And Wilf - I see 2006 as nearly as big a victory as Hezbollah could possibly score. The invincible Israelis withdrew, Hezbollah stood and fought in the villages in the south, and then helped clean up the country after Israel (again) devastated the infrastructure, gaining popularity and legitimacy through both their military and political wings. They may not have decisively defeated the IDF on the ground, but they fought very well and the strategic and IO gains for Hezbollah were quite large, IMO. I'd be interested to hear why you (or others) think otherwise.
Having talked to several men who actually fought, i would dispute that Hezbollah fought well or successfully. They were never able to hold ground against the units I have talked to. It would be like suggesting the Somalis fought well in Mogadishu or that the Taliban fought well during OP Anaconda.

They lost lots of equipment and about 5-600 dead. On the one occasion I know of where they cornered an entire IDF Platoon (Golani) they killed 6 and wounded everyone except 2, and still the platoon broke contact and recovered to their own forces. I have yet to see anything that would indicate Hezbollah as being widely skilled at the tactical level. - I would judge them to be as tactically proficient as the the Somalis in Mogadishu or that the Taliban fought during OP Anaconda.