"All this destruction is a sign of victory," said Hashem in the Gulf Times. "It shows they could not succeed militarily, so they resorted to hitting civilians."
Succeed at what militarily, Hashem? If your beloved Hezbollah hadn't started the fight, there would have been no military objectives for Israel to try and succeed at. And how could Israel not hit civilians when your beloved Hezbollah deliberately hides among them, totally unconcerned about how many are killed or ruined?
Make no mistake. Israel could destroy Hezbollah if it cared nothing about civilian casualties. But it does care, and Hezbollah knows it and takes full advantage of that fact. The terrorists understand that while Israel may be willing to inflict a certain level of civilian casualties after having been attacked, it can stomach only so much, beyond which it will be extraordinarily reluctant to exceed.
In other words, the terrorists, who themselves target civilians as a matter of course, assume Israel’s moral decency in that regard. If Hezbollah has won this conflict as it claims, it did so through its own moral depravity by taking advantage of Israel's moral superiority, as well as through the callous use of clueless Lebanese civilians as cannon fodder.
Given all that, thanking Hezbollah is one of the most monumental acts of stupidity that could ever be committed by sentient, upright-walking human beings. And it's infuriatingly frustrating for the rational among us to have to listen to. But the celebrations of victory by the mentally and morally challenged will likely continue amidst the ruins that were caused by Hezbollah.
No worries. Hezbollah has promised to help rebuild everything that was destroyed. Of course, without Hezbollah nothing would have been destroyed in the first place, but that’s beside the point. The important thing is they stood up to the Jews. Of course, again, without Hezbollah’s reckless actions, there would have been no need to stand up to the Jews, but again, that’s beside the point. The important thing is . . . Well, you get the idea.
And what about the next war that Hezbollah will inevitably cause? Given what many are now calling a victory, they should pray to Allah they don’t have to see what defeat looks like.
Article comments
1 - Mark Schannon
Well done! You won't convince the anti-Israelites and anti-Semites, but sometimes you just have to speak the truth!
In Jameson Veritas
2 - Dean
Q. How far can a 60-ton tank go after it comes within range of an anti-tank missile?
A. Not far.
This conflict was not decided by air power as expected.
It was decided by anti-tank missiles.
3 - Les Slater
Greg,
You stand all on its head. Maybe you are shell-shocked by all the news.
You state that Hezbollah started this war. They did only a small deed that Israel does as a matter of course in much greater magnitude.
Israel claims to have the right, and does indeed, kidnap across boarders at will. They do this only because they think they have the brute force to get away with it.
What Israel does routinely, on a large scale, raises horror and indignation when it is done on a small scale, to them.
The kidnapping of two Israeli solders is not what started this war. It was not even when Israel started the air strikes against Lebanon.
How could anyone consider such retaliation a war? All good people in the region basically said 'you kick the bully, you goin' toget the livin’ shit beat out of you. That's that'.
So, what’s there left to do? Lick your wounds, humiliate yourself by begging forgiveness and promising not to let anyone say or do bad things again?
How dare Hezbollah, after the bully made its bloody point, step up and strike back after that? To stand up to a bully is terror. The nerve!
What Hezbollah did was not in the cards, but it is precisely what needs to be done to a bully.
You take on a bully and you might get hurt, but if you don’t the bully will feel free to attack you at will without retaliation.
Now the bully is licking his wounds and crying. The people in Lebanon know they been in a fight, they too are wounded, but rightly proud. The bully is not invincible after all.
This IS a historic defeat for Israel and a victory for those that have suffered Israel for all these decades.
Les
4 - Lumpy
We should start a betting pool on how many days it will be before hezbullah starts gratuitously launching missile at civilians again.
5 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
The question, ladies and gentlemen, is not whether HizbAllah will launch rockets or missiles at Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Lod Airport. The question is when.
This is pendant upon what were HizbAllah's actual losses in this war. That is not yet clear.
6 - gazelle
Hizbullah has achieved what Arab states only dreamed of
The sixth Arab-Israeli war, as some have called it, has ended in the first real setback for Israel's deterrent power
David Hirst Thursday August 17, 2006 guardian.co.uk
*David Hirst reported from the Middle East for the Guardian from 1963 to 2001
7 - Greg Strange
#6 Gazelle--
"Hizbullah has achieved what Arab states only dreamed of."
Again, it did it by taking advantage of Israel's inherent moral decency and its reluctance to inflict too high a cost on civilians. Terrorists have figured that out. Ultimately, though, when Israel's very survival is at stake, it will have no choice but to do whatever is necessary. When that happens, civilians will unavoidably pay a very high price and it will be because of the terrorists' insane obsession with Israel's destruction. We'll see how many local inhabitants praise the terrorists then.
8 - Victor Plenty
If the irrational belief in this chimerical victory can help Lebanon's civilians gather together the resolve to rebuild their civilian infrastructure, so much the better for everyone.
If it leads to additional armed confrontations with Israel, so much the worse for everyone.
Greg has the truth of it. Nobody won this round.
9 - Dean
It was revealed that the military chief of staff, Dan Halutz, had made a major sale of shares in between back-to-back meetings on the day the conflict began. The sale was seen as evidence of corruption from an official who would be in control of the conduct of the war and the resulting knock-on effects on the Israeli stock market.
Opinion polls had little good news for prime minister Ehud Olmert's government. A poll by TNS-Teleseker found support for Mr Olmert dropping to 40% from 78% in the early weeks of the war, while Mr Peretz's approval ratings fell from 61% to 28%.
A second poll by the Dahaf Research Institute found that 57% believed Mr Peretz should resign and 70% opposed a ceasefire that did not provide for the return of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbullah which sparked the war.”
What else will it do but lead to additional armed confrontations?
10 - gazelle
#7 Greg
I think if israel used even more force than it has it would surely surely surely hasten its own moral demise. the current moral-morale defeat is already great despite the 'restraint'.
survival at the annihilation of everyone else ("terrorists") is even greater terror - and hardly a guaranty of military or moral victory.
despite all the hype, israel is hardly hardly hardly in any danger of "being wiped of" - that being the PR for expansion and greater control of the ME, a fantasy that has just turned bitter for both the US and Israel, which are least tolerant of political rivals.
as if resistance is futile. it is not.
At the start of the hostlities, Amir Peretz had boasted that Nasrullah will not be able to forget his name, Amir Peretz. It looks like it is Amir Peretz who will not be able forget the name Nasrullah. :/
best
11 - Terry G.
I work with a Syrian and it is incredible how they can avoid agreeing that ALL children should not live in fear of war...but yet she can only lament for the lebonese children. Try the above first statement on anyone from the middle east and watch them ignore it. Incredible.