[Washington Institute for Near East Policy] Moshe Yaalon - Since the Israeli operation in Lebanon began, Israel has attacked more than 1,000 targets, destroying at least one Iranian-made Zalzal rocket, capable of reaching Tel Aviv. Ammunition trucks coming from Syria and Hizballah headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut have also been attacked. At least 800 rockets - most of them Iranian-made - have been fired at Israeli villages and towns from Haifa to the Galilee. Some of these were 220-milimeter Syrian-made rockets that had been modified with shrapnel in order to inflict more civilian casualties. There have been relatively few Israeli casualties because the rockets have generally been inaccurate and people have largely obeyed orders to move away from dangerous areas. Israel's objectives in this operation are threefold: (1) the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559's call for disarming Hizballah; (2) the deployment of Lebanese forces along the border, also as called for in Resolution 1559; and (3) the release of kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Anything short of this will be the starting point for the next wave of hostilities. This operation is an opportunity to move from the strategy of withdrawal back to the offensive strategy against radical Islam. Brig. Gen. (res.) Moshe Yaalon, a distinguished military fellow at the Washington Institute, is a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff.
2006-07-21 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive