(Jerusalem Post) Yossi Melman - Ten years after the Second Lebanon War there is a growing public perception that the war brought Israel important strategic achievements. Above all there is peace at the Lebanese border. For the last 10 years not a single Israeli citizen was hurt and only four Israeli soldiers were killed. Since that war several top Hizbullah commanders were assassinated, including "defense minister" Imad Mughniyeh and his successor, Mustafa Badreddine. In the war in Syria, at least 1,600 Hizbullah fighters have been killed and another 6,000 wounded. Not a small matter for an army - conscripts and reservists combined - of 45,000. On top of this, Hizbullah has financial problems to the point that it delays payments to its members and to bereaved families. Yet Hizbullah has accumulated more than 100,000 missiles and rockets, at least a thousand of which are long-range and accurate enough to hit almost any strategic and military site in Israel. Hizbullah is better equipped and trained than it was 10 years ago. It has better intelligence and it has drones. But Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah knows the true power balance between the two sides. In case another war breaks out, the Israeli military will crush Hizbullah, kill as many of its troops as possible and destroy its arsenals and bases. The Israeli public knows this and so does Nasrallah.
2016-08-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive