Blame Olmert for Israel's slumping mojo
By Carol Devine-Molin
web posted July 31, 2006
I have full faith in the valiant Israeli soldiers and their commanders, who have consistently proven themselves to be world class warriors. It's the Israeli leadership that's at the root of my misgivings. It doesn't take a military genius to figure out that the policymakers in Israel are having difficulties executing this current military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. It makes one wonder if the Israeli civilian leadership was ever properly motivated to fight this war. That being said, I have no doubt that most Israelis understand that anything less than a decisive victory will be construed as a "win" for the Hezbollah organization, which will only embolden these terrorists and place the Israeli citizenry at even further risk (if that were possible).
Let's start at the inception of the current crisis, initiated by Hezbollah, but undoubtedly instigated by its puppet-masters, Iran and Syria: Apparently, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and the other decision makers and advisors in the loop exhibited initial misjudgment by: 1) underestimating the military might of the Hezbollah terrorists, and, 2) believing that they could neutralize the enemy and its infrastructure in Lebanon with air power alone. As to the former point, Olmert, Peretz, etc. should have readily surmised that Hezbollah was not a rag-tag group, but a well-trained, well-equipped cadre of fighters that had many years to prepare for confrontation with Israel, bolstered considerably by more than one hundred million in annual funding by their primary state sponsor, Iran. As to the latter point, certainly military brass would have advocated for the coordinated use of both air power and ground troops to ferret out an enemy that was well dug-in over a lengthy period and was given to hiding out in tunnels, bunkers and among a Lebanese civilian population utilized as human shields.
Early on, Olmert et al. tweaked their position and moved forward sending ground troops into Lebanon. The current question at hand is this: Are the Israeli "boots on the ground" present in sufficient numbers to accomplish the mission? This is no time to cut-corners. Fighting a "minimalistic", tit-for-tat, politically correct war – as it now appears to be playing-out on the television news - will only add to the ambiguity of a victory. If Israel plans to accomplish a decisive win, it will be necessary to eschew its current "proportional" response and hit this very dangerous enemy with everything it's got. Simply put, Israelis must significantly degrade the Hezbollah group, unless, of course, they don't mind living in a perpetual state of fear and at the mercy of Hezbollah terrorists that can easily lob missiles into the interior of their tiny nation.
Obviously, the status quo is patently unacceptable and cannot be permitted to stand. If Hezbollah is not stifled in its assaults upon Israel, then ultimately Israel will be forced to strike out against Hezbollah's sponsors, Iran and Syria. But why risk a region engulfed in warfare, particularly with nuclear weapons thrown into the mix? If this Olmert government is incompetent at dealing with national security issues and oversight of military operations, then the Israeli populace should consider replacing it in a timely manner. I doubt that former prime ministers Ariel Sharon (a former general) or Binyamin Netanyahu would have prosecuted this war in the same manner as Olmert and his crew. Netanyahu is a renowned expert in terrorism, and thoroughly understands these awful terrorist thugs.
Moreover, the government of Lebanon, which has voiced solidarity with Hezbollah, is now accusing Israel of "war crimes" in the deaths of 56 civilians, many of whom were children killed by Israeli airstrikes in the Lebanese village of Qana. Hezbollah rockets were being launched from Qana that were injuring Israeli citizens, and consequently the Israeli government warned the residents of Qana to abandon their homes with the expectation of imminent airstrikes. However, why weren't these people permitted to flee? That absolutely needs to be determined. Somehow, this all smells like a set-up by Hezbollah to cast further aspersions upon Israel.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, Israel has agreed to suspend its air attacks for the next 48 hours, in order to facilitate an investigation of circumstances and the flow of humanitarian aid into the village. It seems to me that if the Olmert government wants to slink out of this current military campaign with some type of negotiated ceasefire, then it probably can to so at this juncture. However, as already delineated, it would be a grave mistake because Israel requires a clear-cut victory against Hezbollah. Anything less will parlayed into an ostensible "defeat" for Israel, which will make it even more vulnerable to attack from its enemies, which, in turn, could lead to an even wider regional conflagration. In addition, Israelis will be throwing away a golden opportunity to significantly disarm the Hezbollah group, which is poised to launch more missiles at them.
It must be understood that the primary obligation of any nation is to attend to its security and protect its populace. The Israelis had no other choice but to destroy launch sites at Qana, and Hezbollah was well aware of that fact. In any event, Hezbollah intends to use dead women and children at Qana as a propaganda tool in order to pummel Israel in world opinion. In this upside-down bizarro world that we live in, Israel is tagged the culprit while the real murderers - the Hezbollah terrorists that place innocent children in harm's way – walk away with a free pass to continue their unconscionable activities. Perhaps the Lebanese government should take responsibility for its people and ensure that they are relocated when a village is targeted by the Israelis (who give fair warning via leaflets). Heck, these terrorists even use United Nations blue helmets as shields, a fact which amazingly escaped the attention of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan until a recent incident made it undeniably clear. I guess living the good life in New York City makes it all but impossible to focus in on the modus operandi of Hezbollah terrorists, even when it directly affects your personnel. 
Carol Devine-Molin is a regular contributor to several online magazines.