leejo

ok.

Lucky Shot

I don't think that Israel is trying to bring peace to Hizbollah or would even care to. I think Israel tried to make Israel peaceful by making rocket positions uninhabitable and to push Hezbollah back to a point where their rockets can't hit Israel.

Not sure how bringing in a buffer army that has no emotional ties to the skirmish is supposed to get energized about maintaining peace. Especially after seeing how bravely the UN fled from Iraq when it became too dangerous. I think I would feel safer as an Israeli if it was Brave Brave Sir Robin protecting me.

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Steeler

True enough about Israel's goals. I think they overestimated the ability of air power to accomplish that goal, however. They also falsely believed that attacking the greater Lebanese infrastructure would somehow cause the civilian population to turn on Hezbollah. The opposite occurred - Hezbollah may reel from the pounding tactically, but strategically they will emerge with a greater support base. And so you have another round of reciprocations down the line.

A ground invasion and extended occupation could get the job done, but the IDF knows from experience the severe costs involved in that. And of course the international political risks are more than Israel is currently willing to take.

Kosovo has become the model for UN peacekeeping action. The UN pulled out of Iraq because they only had civilian staff there and the coalition couldn't provide or had no interest in providing adequate security. There was no resolution to put UN military forces on the ground to protect the staff. A beefed up UNIFIL COULD do some good in southern Lebanon, but I think the Lebanese government will play a much more critical role in Hezbollah's fate over the next few months.

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Lucky Shot

Agree overall with your comments Steeler, including the generalization about how much tougher it is for a ground war.

In Serbia, the Euro Nations cared because of the proximity to their own countries and knowing Yugoslavia's powder keg potential. I question their emotional committment to Israel/Lebanon as I don't they have a reason to fight for this land. I also don't think Lebanon has much of an army to speak of or they would have done something already.

Hey, if peace breaks out, I think it's a real positive for the middle east (Especially Israel). However, i don't think Hezbollah will allow it and again, more than happy to be wrong.

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CingularDuality

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that everyone wants to fight with everyone else all the time. Sure, there will be peace between certain people during certain times, as anger and competition is redirected, but it's a dynamic that will never go away. Will it?

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Wulfyn

Ahhh, no need to be sorry Cing! In fact I should apologise - I misread you. In that sense yes I definitely agree that there will never be world peace. As you said, it's never going to go away completely.

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