Hizbullah / Hezbollah (just the group)

[Surferbeetle]

Things are and one does. Every war is different and we all change as we age and society changes also -- thus I'm not sure anyone will ever get it all sorted out even in their own mind, much less for the variety that is mankind. Nor am I sure that one needs to. For most of us, our instincts work pretty well.We were exceedingly fortunate in Korea as the war occurred before the DoD invention of 'metrics.' Thank the gods.

Ken,

I appreciate your insights.

As a young Lieutenant stationed in Vicenza I would occasionally wander the old WWI Battlefield of Asiago. It was above treeline so my breathing was a bit labored but no matter how much ground I covered the plethora of splintered bones, sharp shrapnel, live ordnance, and shattered rock always helped me to think about the true nature of war. Fortunately for me it was also located in a beautiful northern Italian setting so it was always an enjoyable hike.

Books-wise I was looking for some recommendations on Hezbollah and Korea. With regards to Korea, 'Task Force Smith' vignettes for cadets and Hackworth's thoughts about it in his book 'About Face' are pretty much the extent of my reading. I have no Arabic reading skills, but I am very interested in Hezbollah/Hizbullah tactics, in particular their CA stuff...and suspect that some of their tactics are worth understanding and applying to our current situation.

This month's foreign affairs has a painful but interesting article to read about the ME

"Summary: The Bush administration wants to contain Iran by rallying the support of Sunni Arab states and now sees Iran's containment as the heart of its Middle East policy: a way to stabilize Iraq, declaw Hezbollah, and restart the Arab-Israeli peace process. But the strategy is unsound and impractical, and it will probably further destabilize an already volatile region.

Vali Nasr, Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Adjunct Senior Fellow for the Middle East at the Council on Foreign Relations, is the author of "The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future." Ray Takeyh is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of "Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic."

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/200801...ning-iran.html

Regards,

Steve