Tuesday, August 15. 2006
Aaron Klein (WorldNetDaily)
In the coming days, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his government ministers will attempt to persuade Israeli voters and the international community that Israel achieved its political and military objectives during its campaign in Lebanon.
Olmert will likely claim Hezbollah's capabilities have been minimized; a strong, armed force will soon be deployed in south Lebanon capable of contending with Hezbollah; and that the political momentum for a new Middle East settlement is now on Israel's side.
In actuality, these claims couldn't be further from the truth. Israel lost the war in Lebanon on all fronts. This is so largely because Olmert refused to allow the Israeli Defense Forces to do its job.
Days after Hezbollah provoked Israel last month by firing rockets into Jewish towns and by ambushing an Israeli military patrol unit killing 8 soldiers and kidnapping two others, the IDF presented Olmert with several battle plans it says could have devastated Hezbollah within an estimated three weeks.
The plans, drawn up and improved upon over the course of several years, called for an immediate air campaign against Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut; aerial bombardment of key sections of the Lebanese-Syria border to ensure the kidnapped soldiers were not transported out of the country and to halt Syrian re-supply of arms to Hezbollah; and the deployment of up to 40,000 ground troops to advance immediately to the Latani River ? taking up the swath of territory from which most Hezbollah rockets are fired ? and from there work their way back to the Israeli border while surrounding and then cleaning out Hezbollah strongholds under heavy aerial cover.
To the dismay of military officials here, Olmert did not approve the plan. He initially allowed only a limited air campaign that focused on some high-profile Hezbollah targets, the Beirut airport and roads that led from Beirut into Syria. But the main smuggling routes between Syria and Lebanon, sites very well known to Israeli intelligence, were essentially off limits to the Israeli Air Force because Olmert didn't want his army operating too close to Syria for fear it would bring Damascus into the conflict.
WorldNetDaily was made aware by senior military officials of several meetings in which IDF officials petitioned Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz for a larger ground force and for more heavy aerial cover, or at least for ground troops already in Lebanon to be authorized to reach the Latani River in hopes of cleaning out the villages nearby such as Tyre, from which many rockets are launched into Israel.
The petitions came more frequently as Hezbollah rockets landed further and further south inside Israel.
Tens of thousands of troops were put on standby in northern Israel, but were not allowed to enter Lebanon.
Now the cease-fire is being implemented. Perhaps it will hold, perhaps it won't. Either way, Hezbollah has won the war. It put up an incredible fight against IDF forces paralyzed by Israel's leadership.
For Israel, an international force on its borders will impede the ability of the IDF to operate with freedom during any future conflict with Hezbollah.
The Jewish state's credibility took a massive toll when Olmert agreed to the current cease-fire calling for negotiations at a later date for the two soldiers Hezbollah kidnapped. Olmert had repeatedly vowed the war would only stop after Hezbollah returned the abducted Israeli troops, and now the prime minister is ending the war without even vague promises of the soldiers' assured safety or indications they are alive. Hezbollah sees this as a victory.
The cease-fire places the Shebba Farms, territory held by Israel but claimed by Hezbollah, up for future negotiations, granting Hezbollah the ability to claim its fighting brought international legitimacy to its territorial demands.
The cease-fire doesn't place an immediate arms embargo on Hezbollah, but only calls for future talks on stopping weapons transfers to the terror group. This leaves Syria and Iran free to rearm and regroup Hezbollah.
The two state sponsors of Hezbollah, Syria and Iran learned during the last month that they can orchestrate a proxy war against America's Middle East ally at no cost to their regimes. They engineered a tough fight against Israeli forces and came out on top. They will be emboldened to continue their war against Israel and U.S. troops in Iraq at a fevered pitch. Iran smells Western weakness and will forge ahead with its nuclear ambitions.
And terrorists in the West Bank and Gaza are foaming at the mouth. Today, Abu Aziz, second-in-command of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, told WorldNetDaily that Hezbollah's victory leads him to believe the end of Israel is in sight. He said he realizes now is the time to "attack Israel from all directions."
And so the enemies of the U.S. and Israel are poised for another war. They smell victory, and why shouldn't they? The last month demonstrated that with weak Israeli leadership in place, the Jewish state can be defeated.
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