evolution

CNN is now reporting on air that Israeli troops have begun an incursion into southern Lebanon.

I cringe every time I turn on CNN or FOX to catch up on this story. In part, that’s because that I half-expect to see someone detonating a massive explosive device in a huge crowd of people, thereby starting World War III, and in smaller part because tuning in means I have to watch the likes of the well-coiffed, palm-tree clutching Pulitzer-chasers talk about it.

That’s why I’ve been (like the maniacal fascist that I apparently am) following PJM. There’s a lot of blog material from the region itself, plus plenty more from this country.

I believe Hezbollah must be crushed, with extreme prejudice. Is blowing up Lebanon’s wider infrastructure the way to go about it? It seems to me that the same message Israel is delivering could be delivered with a few precision-guided 500-pound bombs dropped on key Hezbollah targets — surely the Israelis know where many of those are. In fact, I doubt the Lebanese government would mind all that much. Many areas of Beirut and other areas of the country are “no-go” areas for Lebanese law enforcement, and many Lebanese wish Hezbollah would “disappear”. (It is worth noting, however, that many others do not.)

It seems to me that Israel could have enlisted the existing (and relatively improved) Lebanese government’s help in identifying Hezbollah targets. I don’t think Israel picked the most effective method to do that. Instead, that government will be weaker with the country’s wider infrastructure in tatters — perhaps it will even be toppled by a Hezbollah that is energized by finally having some Jews to fight.

That would be worse for Israel — not better.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 18th, 2006 at 22:05 and is filed under war. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.