Israeli Public Support For Lebanon War Starts To Waver
Americans who watched in horror as our government bit off more than it could chew in Iraq can entirely understand the feelings of a growing segment of the Israeli public.
With much of Israel's northern population huddling in underground shelters and Hezbollah proving more resilient than Israeli leaders had publicly predicted, Israel's news media, intellectual elite and public are starting to question the judgment of the country's political and military leadership.
After an extraordinary national surge of unanimity during the first days of the conflict, public support is starting to fray, with some of the nation's most influential voices criticizing political leaders and Israel Defense Forces generals for military strategies they say have failed to protect Israeli citizens.
They blame Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz for trying to lull citizens into a false sense of security, fault generals for relying too heavily on air power to destroy Hezbollah rocket launchers, and worry that Israeli troops may not have been prepared to defeat a force far tougher than Palestinian fighters....
"The strikes on the home front are becoming worse as the IDF sends more and more brigades into Lebanon," wrote Amos Harel in the daily newspaper Haaretz. "Launchings from areas in which the army is operating have been reduced by half, but Hezbollah combatants simply relocate to the next range of hills and fire from there."
Israel is currently hoping that the international community can come up with a peacekeeping force to move into the (still limited) areas that Israel has taken in South Lebanon.
If such a force cannot be assembled, Israel will have the Hobson's choice of either remaining as an occupation force, or departing and allowing Hezbollah to move back into their old positions.
With much of Israel's northern population huddling in underground shelters and Hezbollah proving more resilient than Israeli leaders had publicly predicted, Israel's news media, intellectual elite and public are starting to question the judgment of the country's political and military leadership.
After an extraordinary national surge of unanimity during the first days of the conflict, public support is starting to fray, with some of the nation's most influential voices criticizing political leaders and Israel Defense Forces generals for military strategies they say have failed to protect Israeli citizens.
They blame Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz for trying to lull citizens into a false sense of security, fault generals for relying too heavily on air power to destroy Hezbollah rocket launchers, and worry that Israeli troops may not have been prepared to defeat a force far tougher than Palestinian fighters....
"The strikes on the home front are becoming worse as the IDF sends more and more brigades into Lebanon," wrote Amos Harel in the daily newspaper Haaretz. "Launchings from areas in which the army is operating have been reduced by half, but Hezbollah combatants simply relocate to the next range of hills and fire from there."
Israel is currently hoping that the international community can come up with a peacekeeping force to move into the (still limited) areas that Israel has taken in South Lebanon.
If such a force cannot be assembled, Israel will have the Hobson's choice of either remaining as an occupation force, or departing and allowing Hezbollah to move back into their old positions.
posted by Effwit at 9:25 AM
1 Comments:
Meatball One is about to blow your cover. What's up? You chicks have a sexy falling out?
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