[Ha'aretz] Ze'ev Schiff - There have already been cease-fire agreements with Hizballah in south Lebanon - in 1993 and in 1996 - that were not worth the paper on which they were written. Even withdrawing from Lebanon down to the last millimeter, as confirmed by the UN, did not prevent Hizballah from continuing its attacks, abducting and killing Israelis, shelling Israeli towns, building up a huge array of rockets and missiles, courtesy of Iran and Syria, and digging in very deep along the border. Should Israel's strategy for ending the war repeat the same scenario? That would be a recipe for suicide. The strategy for ending the war with Hizballah must state that the outcome will be deemed positive only if Hizballah is dealt a major blow, feels that it has paid a steep price, and is isolated in the Arab world. Only that kind of ending will not cause more serious danger in the future. Israel's goal should be to eliminate Hizballah's military deployment in south Lebanon, including its fortifications.
2006-07-28 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive