Quote Originally Posted by Abujnoub View Post
A few points.

How can you defeat Hizbullah? You can't militarily in my view. You can temporarily weaken but you cannot destroy. A senior IDF general told me recently that the IDF should have staged a full-scale invasion from the get go, punching up to the Litani in a couple of days before fanning back and wiping out Hizbullah pockets. However, first, the IDF would have taken much larger casualties, second, what about Hizbullah positions north of the Litani and in the Bekaa? The speculation is that come round 2, the IDF will move into the Bekaa and take out Hizbullah's logistical centers there. But then what? As has already been stated, Hizbullah will simply rebuild once the IDF has gone home.

BTW, Being Arabic, the word Hizbullah can be spelt in numerous different ways. There is no correct or incorrect spelling in English.
Oh, I'm quite aware of the pitfalls of writing out Arabic words in English - our professor always railed against us when we did that. So, in short, I can't do it. I just laugh when I see about 50 different versions of Hezbollah.

I completely agree about the IDF's inability to defeat Hezbollah in Lebanese territory, but I think Rex made an excellent point (though you, given your background and occupation, would speak to it better than I); namely, that the kidnapping and initial Israeli response detracted from Hezbollah's popularity and legitimacy in Lebanon. A more carefully planned initial response might have been effective without further bolstering Hezbollah in the eyes of the Lebanese people.

But you're right, there is no real way for Hezbollah to be defeated and destroyed by the IDF.

Matt