The IDF's New Definition of Victory

Hezbollah's fighting force in southern Lebanon can be totally eliminated, say generals in the IDF, but that will take a much more intensive invasion by ground troops, capturing all the territory up to the Litani River. There is a consensus, both at the political and the military levels, that Israel shouldn't be doing that as the cost - in casualties, in economic damage caused by a widespread reservists call-up and in international support - is deemed prohibitive.

But the generals are continuing to promise a victory at the end of this round of fighting; so how do they define victory? A senior IDF source said on Tuesday that the victory wouldn't be measured only in military terms, but also in diplomatic ones.

"For the past two weeks, the military side was given precedent over diplomacy. Now both sides have equal power," said the source. So now the IDF's idea of victory over Hizbullah consists of a multinational force with real powers that will take control of southern Lebanon and ensure that Hizbullah's rockets don't return.

The IDF's realization that Hezbollah can't be totally overcome in a matter of weeks came quickly when it became evident that the terrorist organization was sticking to its overall strategy of preparing concentrations of forces with large quantities of missiles in many different locations, enabling them to continue bombarding Israel for weeks and months on end.... That's one of the reasons that Hezbollah has yet to use its longer-range missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv, but prefers keeping them as a veiled threat.

The 'dream' solution currently is an upgraded multi-national force - nothing like the bad, old UNIFIL who were more human shields for the Hezbollah than anything else - but a force with powers and security responsibilities similar to those of the NATO battalions that operated in Kosovo and the multi-national force currently fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The IDF's hope is that the multi-national force will use arms to prevent Hezbollah from resuming its operations in the area south of the Litani. French and Saudi troops firing on Hezbollah members and doing the IDF's job for them. That's the current idea of an Israeli victory.