The Bush Administration’s encouragement of Israel’s foolish strategy marks its third military disaster.
Israel’s political leaders now cannot stop the war without winning a clear military victory. Anything less will be called a major defeat and bring them well-deserved political oblivion.
All Hezbollah has to do to win is survive the Israeli onslaught.
Wars are always filled with surprises. But hardly anyone, including veteran military observers, expected Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters to withstand Israel’s armed forces for a month. This wholly unexpected resistance of some 3,000 Hezbollah fighters to the world’s fourth most powerful military machine electrified the Muslim world and stunned Israelis, who had foolishly dismissed Hezbollah as a bunch of terrorists.
Instead, Hezbollah fought Israel’s armoured juggernaut to a standstill.
Many Hezbollah officers are highly skilled veterans of the 1980’s war. Hezbollah fighters stand out among Arab military forces for proficiency in small unit combat tactics. Their squads are experts in moving and firing, setting up interlocking fields of fire, laying ambushes and anti-tank mines and pre-registered mortar fire plans.
History recoded other locations where such skills proved to be the determinant of victory:
Bint Jebil, which changed hands numerous times, is being hailed as ‘Hezbollagrad’ after the legendary World War II battle at Stalingrad. Hezbollah claims to have knocked out 13 of Israel’s superbly armoured Merkava tanks. Had Hezbollah any effective shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons, such as the US Stinger that neutralised Soviet aviation in Afghanistan, Israel’s enormous advantage from devastating close air support would also be partially neutralised.
In this sense, Hezbollah mujahideen are showing the same tenacious and deadly combat skills as North Vietnam’s renowned light infantry in the Indochina Wars.
By contrast, IDF ground forces seem to have forgotten almost all the bitter lessons previously learned in Lebanon. The 1980’s occupation cost Israel nearly 800 soldiers and billions of dollars.
Much of which was provided to Israel by American taxpayers.