Audrey2Katrina wrote:Ishai David (of the Israeli IDF) just reported by telephone that over 400 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in the fighting in the last few days... don't ever think Israel isn't putting a major "hurt" on these terrorists, and it's the biggest reason they are launching such a huge propaganda campaign--they're feeling the hurt bigtime--and it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of hate/terror mongers.
A2K
This all depends on what you consider "hurt", though - because victory for Hizbollah and victory for Israel are NOT the same things.
First, you have to recognize that Hizbollah is NOT the same kind of organization as, say, al Queda. There are fundamental differences in both their politics (al Queda is a Wahhabi radical cult, Hizbollah is a Shi'ite nationalist party formed to remove Israel from Shi'ite territory in the 80's) and in their organizational structure (al Queda is loosely knit and based on abstract ideas, Hizbollah is a bona fide nationalist political organization, with all the roots that go along with it). al Queda operations are easily disrupted - cells are small and easily extracted, and intelligence can go a long way towards discovering them. Hizbollah, on the other hand, is woven into the fabric of the Shi'ite community - you will not kill Hizbollah unless you kill pretty much all the Shia, something that is not a politically or morally feasible goal, obviously.
So if we know that Hizbollah in some way shape or form will survive - then what?
The most Israel can hope for, IMO, is to destroy as many Hizbollah rockets as possible and then usher in a forceful international army to act as a buffer to prevent future strikes. They could have done that - but they have chosen to go much, much further. And at this point they are only playing to Hizbollah's advantage.
All Hizbollah has to do to win in the eyes of the Arab world is survive. Truth is, they have already won in many ways: they have the respect they wanted both from the Arab street and from other Arab non-state actors and they have inflicted damage on Israel and the IDF while holding their own to an extent (thats more than any other Arab army has been able to do). Now Israel is making the (IMO VERY DUMB) mistake of trying to reoccupy Lebanon, which will give Hizbollah the opportunity to fight the IDF the same way the Sunnis in Iraq fight us. They will continue to inflict damages on the IDF and make them look weaker and weaker in the eyes of the world, trapping them in Lebanon and forcing them to face casualties or to retreat.
Frankly, I don't know how Israel could get out now and still save adequate face.... but Hizbollah will survive, regardless of the casualties they sustain.