...And The Winner Is...

We have a Ceasefire. Has anything been settled? No! The Hezbollah is still in Lebanon, and who will disarm and evict them? It appears that Israel has learned, the hard way, that their Intelligence failed to supply accurate information about Hezbollah’s armament and preparedness. For the first time in Israel’s existence, they were confronted by a well-trained, superbly motivated military force, probably equal to their own. Iranian “advisors” are part of the Hezbollah contingent.

Losses on both sides were heavy, unusually heavy on the Israeli side. However, here is the big difference. Hezbollah has an almost inexhaustible pool of new recruits while Israel has to rely on its dwindling reserves.

Renewed hostilities are waiting for the next provocation. Who knows what missiles Syria and Iran will have supplied to Hezbollah by then.

What happened to the two Israeli hostages Hezbollah is holding? Didn’t a ceasefire depend on their release?

A buffer-zone between Israel’s North and Lebanon’s South is to be established in Lebanon and manned by an international force, anchored by fifteen thousand Lebanese soldiers. Unfortunately, the Lebanese army is as toothless as its government. They have no sophisticated weaponry. The danger of any of their troops defecting to the Hezbollah might keep non-Islamic countries from supplying them with sophisticated weapons.

So we are once again at a stand-off, the next armed conflict just around the corner. At the end of the day, none of the objectives sought by Israel and the United States have been accomplished.

Iran and Syria, the driving forces behind Hezbollah’s aggression, have played their hands well. They are the winners of the latest conflict!