Question - Will Israel "ridding Lebanon of Hezbollah" work as well

[Doctor_J]

as Smirk "cleaning Al Qaeda out of Iraq"?

sounds sarcastic, but will this incursion work any better than Dufus's?

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Nope! Can't be done

Israel's also going to have to 'take out' a couple of democratically elected officials in the Lebanese government if their aim is to rid them of Hezbollah.

[MADem]

5. Get rid of one guy

Nasrallah....and maybe a few of his senior stooges.

Find a way to cut the funding stream (that is more problematic, IMO) while at the same time substituting other humanitarian agencies' assistance in the shi'a neighborhoods (absolutely IMPERATIVE to do both) and that loyalty will dry up faster than a puddle in an Arizona July.

The population's regard for those bastards has everything to do with the work of their charitable arm, which is not related (at least not in terms of any organizational charts or line diagrams) to the armed militia, or even the political wing. Each area of the organization is effectively stovepiped. It's how all these outfits do business...

[Norquist Nemesis]

7. Agree wholeheartedly about the humanitarian aid

That's something that doesn't really get focused on.

I asked a question a few days ago about whether Israel has provided humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. :shrug:

[MADem]

12. No, but they get boatloads from Saudi Arabia, and other Arab states

They have telethons every so often in SA. Ladies call in and talk about the gold bracelets they are giving in support. The funding stream is pretty vigorous, and can be turned up when needed.

Saddam used to do this, as well. Since he's out of the picture, the other actors have had to step up the charity to cover for his piece.

[Doctor_J]

9. I have doubts about this

We have seen that capturing all sorts of Al Qaeda "heads", not to mention Saddam, has done nothing to solve the big problem.

[MADem]

11. Yeah, but the Israelis have a history of competence in military affairs

Some may not always like their prosecutions, especially with regard to the Palestinian question, but no one can deny that they aren't competent. They know how to crack down. They spend their defense shekels wisely; they don't toss money to Halliburton and other assorted halfassed crony agencies.

So, it really is inappropriate to compare Israel's efforts (they kicked Arafat's ass all the way to Tunis, and knocked him off the armed resistance path to a POLITICAL path--remember that "do not let the olive branch fall from my hand" speech at the UN??) to the efforts of a bunch of incompetent buffoons who are ruining the finest military in the world with their bloated incompetence.

I hate to say it, but if we could control the agenda and direction, we'd be better off hiring Israelis to run our Department of Defense. At least they know what they are doing.

[MrTriumph]

15. Except for that USS Liberty attack

x

[iamjoy]

2. There Is A Difference

Iraq is so far away, al Qaeda couldn't be staging these attacks if we weren't there.

Lebanon and Israel share a border, Hezbollah has rockets that can reach into Israel.

but no, strategically, it will not be successful. You can't destroy terrorism because it is a tactic. You can destroy terrorists, but others will take their place.

[MADem]

3. Yeah, because the Israelis actually put their assets into their Defense

Ministry. They get bang for their sheckel...Monkeyboy, on the other hand, puts our dollars into the hands of his cronies, who abscond with it, and don't dedicate the dough towards prosecuting the war effort.

[Recursion]

4. There's one crucial difference

Hezbollah is actually in Lebanon, whereas Al Qaeda was not in Iraq before we invaded. So it's at least not metaphysically doomed to fail like Iraq was, just practically doomed.

[Doctor_J]

8. This was what I was thinking

Al Qaeda was in Afghanistan, but Rove attacked Iraq because he thought it would be a cakewalk. It's actually made the problem worse. So at Israel's goal is doable on paper, whereas Il Dunce's never was.

[azurnoir]

6. No, Israel will not be rid of Hezbollah

no matter how many or what kind of bombs they drop on Lebanon or anywhere else.New Hezbollah fighters will replace the dead and at a much faster rate now that there is a clear and immediate reason to join.

[gratuitous]

10. It will work out slightly better for Israel

After all, it's not like it's their own money they'll be pouring into this useless temper tantrum; we'll foot the bill for it, and then be repaid once again by having to roust Israeli spies from our military and intelligence agencies. Then we'll pay for another shitload of armaments for Israel to shoot off.

[Justitia]

13. Israel will never be totally "rid" of Arab groups that seek it's

destruction. At least, not as long as the State of Israel is located in the Middle East - LOL.

Group names & faces may change, but the goals will remain the same.

There may be periods of relative quiet / calm / truce, but it is my opinion that Israel will always have Arab agitators - way too many years of bloody history between them.
And I believe Israel will always hit back "hard" - as long as they are able.

There is a slice of Israeli policy that believes the Arab world only responds to / respects shows of overwhelming force (hence the policy of blowing up 10 houses for every rocket, etc).

So, do they really believe they can "rid" Lebanon of Hezbollah?
Or is this a predictable situation where they want to show overwhelming military force in response to simply the latest threat?
You know, clamp down on agitators before they can seriously agitate?

If you study the history of the region and it's conflicts, I think you have some doubt that these events will ever come to an end.
For the groups involved on both sides it must just seem like another point on the endless continuum of violent co-existence.

[alvarezadams]

14. How can it?

Pouring gasoline on a fire to put it out somehow never works.

Terror must be attacked legally - it's a crime, after all. Don't make martyrs, make prisoners that pick up soap in the shower. Address the core problems - which are usually more perceived than real - and emasculate the zealots by showing them that there's another way to address the problem.

The idea that might makes right or that it can even be successful is risible. Then again, there are those that thought Vietnam was "winnible" - and funnily enough those of this stripe are precisely of the same mindset as those that think that Iraq and Lebanon are doables.

Those who do not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them.