Sunday
Dec282008
Absorbing The Lessons Of The Lebanon War
Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 22:20
David Axe has a short piece up on Danger Room which engages with one of the questions I've had on my mind this past couple of days- is Hamas aiming to be in a position to give Israel the kind of black eye it was dealt by Hezbollah during the 2006 invasion of Lebanon?:
Like Haaretz I don't doubt that Israel could take Gaza, but any ground invasion seems likely to entail IDF casualties. How long would the Israeli leadership have to prove that any move into Gaza wasn't a repeat of 2006?
If Israel ground forces were to roll into Gaza, they would face 15,000 fighters who have absorbed the lessons of the Lebanon War, Haaretz claims. "For two years Hamas, with Iranian assistance, has been working hard on developing its military power, using Hezbollah as a model."
Like Haaretz I don't doubt that Israel could take Gaza, but any ground invasion seems likely to entail IDF casualties. How long would the Israeli leadership have to prove that any move into Gaza wasn't a repeat of 2006?
Reader Comments (3)
Is Israel attempting to right its 2006 wrongs this time, in the hopes of changing its neighbors' (Hamas + Hezb.) perception of it being a toothless lion? Did the outcome of the 2006 war undermine Israel's security by emboldening Hamas?
NYT floats some questions here http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/world/middleeast/29assess.html?ref=middleeast
Clearly the IDF has not absorbed many lessons as they are now massing troops on the Gazan border and the reserves have been called up
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/world/middleeast/30mideast.html?hp
Hamas is not Hezbollah and Gaza is not southern Lebanon. Hamas is deluding itself if it thinks it can give Israel a black eye.