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Israel Scored a Stunning Blow Against Hizbullah
(Wall Street Journal) Michael R. Gordon - Exploding pagers and walkie-talkies across Lebanon was one of Israel's boldest feats. There is broad agreement that the deadly sabotage of Hizbullah's electronic communications was a short-term tactical success that sent its foe into disarray and incapacitated thousands of its fighters. Together with the recent killings of Hizbullah and Hamas leaders, it has helped re-establish the fearsome reputation of Israel's military and intelligence services. "This sends a message to Hizbullah that this is going to look ugly for you," said Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, a former head of military intelligence. "We aren't going only to play with you on the northern border. It will be all over the place with some operations that we never did before." "Israel is restoring its deterrence brick by brick, operation by operation," said Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "The message: We've deeply penetrated your systems and networks. We can kill any of you at any time - and will if you continue your war against us." The pager and walkie-talkie attacks, military experts say, exposed undercover Hizbullah members and crippled the group's communications network. It wounded thousands and killed dozens of members, putting many fighters out of commission. It also undermined Hizbullah's sense of security, creating paranoia within Hizbullah's ranks about what else Israel knows about the group's internal plans.