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Shock and Awe in Lebanon

[Washington Post] William M. Arkin - I just returned from a week touring Beirut and southern Lebanon, and from visiting northern Israel. In Beirut, the destruction was efficient and impressive. The destruction in Israel, on the other hand, was random and scattered. When Hizballah rockets were fired on Israel, landing meant success. So here is the truth: Israel did not do anything close to what it was capable of doing. Hizballah did all it could. Lebanon is shocked, not just by the destruction wrought but by the powerlessness of the owners of the country. The Lebanese government exaggerates what happened because it cannot bear to say that most of what was destroyed was Hizballah's assets, assets that resided and flourished inside their own country under their own noses with their consent. Hizballah meanwhile touts its own "divine victory," bloodied and dislodged from its territory. The Hizballah military, because it is largely invisible, is neither accurately assessed nor really held accountable for the war crimes it committed.
2006-09-19 01:00:00
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