CSI, May 09: Back to Basics: A Study of the Second Lebanon War and Operation CAST LEAD
.....The IDF Operation CAST LEAD against Hamas in 2008-09 was a small scale affair in comparison to the multi-division attack into Lebanon in 2006. The former operation, however, restored confidence in both the government and armed forces in the eyes of the Israeli populace. The reforms of the year and a half between conflicts paid great dividends to Israeli soldiers and aircrews. It also demonstrated Israeli resolve, created a schism in the Muslim Middle East and is only one of a series of escalations in what is becoming a very dangerous conflict in the region......