What a war between Israel and Hezbullah would look like
On September 17, 2010, Jeffrey White and Andrew Exum addressed a special Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute to mark the release of Mr. White's new Institute report If War Comes: Israel vs. Hizballah and Its Allies, an assessment of potential future conflict between Israel and Hizballah and its implications for the region. Mr. White is a defense fellow at the Institute and former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency's Office for Middle East/Africa Regional Military Assessments. Mr. Exum, a former U.S. Army officer who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is a fellow at the Center for a New American Security.You can listen to the full debate here (Hat Tip: Sunlight). It's about 40 minutes long plus a 40-minute question and answer session.
You can read a rapporteur's summary of the debate here.
My own view is that when and if war breaks out, Israel should go all out to destroy Hezbullah (and Hamas if they get involved). Just 'degrading' them - as Exum advocates - is not good enough. We've been down that road before, and four years later we're paying the price for not having finished the job.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:34 AM
4 Comments:
I'm for accomplishing one more thing in the next conflict.
Everything captured (hopefully at least up to the Litani) will be flattened and not a single Lebanese soul will be allowed to remain.
Then declare the land sovereign Israeli territory and warn Lebanon that they'll get more of the same next time. It's up to them.
Agree with shy guy 100%!
Carl, I think I've figured out what made my blood pressure rise in this "forum" podcast. Something these U.S. think tank folks should be paying attention to (but there wasn't a peep about it in this podcast) is the role that Condi Rice and the U.S. State Dept. played in summer '06 in messing up Israel's execution of their plan for responding to an attack on Israeli civilians from Leb. I think President Obama's internationalists took notes and the same approach is being taken with Arizona and El Paso. Attacks over the border are to be dealt with with "restraint", as Andrew Exum explicates in this Washington Institute forum. So, Americans, just keep in mind that whatever the U.S. Govt pressures Israel to sit still under with regard to attacks on civilians, the U.S. Govt will pressure the U.S. southern border states (TX, NM, AZ, CA) to sit still while civilians are under attack from across the border. The West is sliding downhill into savagery... who would ever have thought that our own govts would be so sympathetic to savages that they would insist that we allow them to kill us?
@Shy Guy
Yes, exactly. There must be a real and permanent consequence to arab belligerence. The Golan is not up for negotiation, it is foolish to imply it is and dangle it for a piece of paper.
Arabs don't honor treaties. So take from them the only thing they care about. Let them know their choices are to live in peace and no borders need change, or live at war, and lose land and life.
Land for peace is dead. Land or peace is alive. They attack, we take their land, permanently. They start being peaceful (hah!) and no more land gets taken.
But none will ever be "given back". Ever.
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