Killing Time

I don't agree with all of this

But it has three killer paragraphs that are worth highlighting. They make three key points.

Point one: The shifting (and shrinking) 'goals' of the invasion.

' The campaign's goals have been reduced and shrunk during these three weeks. From restoring Israel's power of deterrence, eliminating Hezbollah, and disarming it immediately -- after three weeks we have arrived at the present goal, which is the dismantling of the forward outposts of Hezbollah and the deployment of an international force to defend the North of Israel from the possibility of a repeat attack. '

Point two: the demolition of the reputation of the IDF.

'Is this how we are restoring the IDF's power of deterrence? Haven't we accomplished exactly the opposite? Hasn't it become clear to the entire world that our "invincible" air force not only failed for three weeks to end the barrage of rockets, but also even needs an emergency airlift of war materiel, as during the 1973 Yom Kippur War?'

And point three: the real killer....the nature of the 'threat'.

' If several thousand guerrilla fighters do constitute an existential danger to a country with a strike force and weaponry that are unparalleled in this part of the world, how is it that during the past five or six years we heard nothing to that effect from government leaders? '

posted by Brendan @ 3:34 PM