Ze’ev Schiff, an analyst for Ha’aretz, thinks Olmert needs to send in the IDF in major force on the ground in order to stop the rockets and finish off most of Hezbullah’s ability to hurt Israel.
There is no way to stop the ceaseless barrage of rockets which are being launched at the north without the Israel Defense Forces undertaking a prompt, more extensive aerial and ground operation designed to neutralize Hezbollah rockets situated south of the Litani River, perhaps even beyond.
Otherwise, the war of attrition will continue, even drag on, and the number of civilian casualties will rise from day to day.
He also says the IDF and the Israeli cabinet are blaming each other for not mounting a large-scale ground offensive.
Something unusual can be discerned in the handling of this campaign. The IDF Northern Command says it has prepared quality attack plans that are ready to be carried out, but they have been delayed. Who has delayed the plans? It remains unclear.
The Prime Minister’s Office argues that the IDF has yet to submit an operational plan for expanding its ground assault beyond “cleansing” a narrow strip along the border of Hezbollah positions. If the IDF does not have a proposal, why should government ministers, most of whom have no military experience or background, offer up such a plan?
As per usual, Sunday’s cabinet meeting resembled a debate club in that not one vote was taken. On Saturday night, the prime minister finally convened his “forum of seven,” which also did not resolve to undertake a clear, operative plan.
I’ve got news for you, folks. The middle of the war is not a good time to be squabbling like high schoolers.
As of now, Hezbollah’s war of attrition continues at full steam. It has been slowed somewhat for a week vis-Ã -vis Haifa, only to be reignited Sunday. The impression is that the IDF’s potency is not being exploited. In such a scenario, even if we win, it would be a squeaker decided by a few points.
Judging by how events are unfolding, it appears that the residents of the north who have remained in their homes have become cannon fodder. This must not continue. We are talking about a difficult war of attrition, part of which we succeeded in hampering as a result of the IDF’s destruction of medium and long-range missiles at the start of the campaign.
The air force and IDF intelligence did it, but the fighting did not end. It is clear that the air force is incapable of taking out Hezbollah’s arsenal of short-range rockets. In the meantime, the Syrians continue to smuggle more rocket launchers into Lebanon, a move tantamount to an act of war against Israel.
If Ze’ev Schiff says Israel is going to lose this war without a ground offensive, then things are looking very, very dark indeed. I was wrong. Ehud Olmert’s Harry Truman moment didn’t arrive when Ariel Sharon lapsed into a coma. It is now.
He needs to prove that he is capable of leading Israel out of this war—by winning it. Your soldiers are ready and waiting for the call.
Capt. Tzahi commands an artillery battery that has been hammering south Lebanon non-stop for over a week. He is a reservist, but only officially.
“I finished my regular army service on Sunday and got mobilized for the reserves on Friday,” he says with a smile. “I didn’t know army mail could move that fast.”
Although he had to cancel a post-army trip to Ireland with his girlfriend – “which was already delayed because of the fighting in Gaza” – he was happy about the call-up.
“We will do this until they tell us to stop. Everyone here understands this fight completely. That’s what’s great about reservists,” he confides happily. “They get an order, they know it’s for real. So they’re more serious.”
As for the response to the call-up, the main problem has been “sending people home. Some people who are medically unfit for combat showed up last week just to hang out with the guys and to help with logistics,” Capt. Tzahi says.
Sitting in a tent in which artillerymen have eaten and slept for days without the luxury of a shower, napping fitfully between bone-jarring booms from nearby batteries, Ran and Kobi, both residents of the North, seem to confirm their commander’s words.
“We understand the goal,” says Ran. “My family is in Karmiel, and we’re not running away, no matter what.” Besides, he says, smiling, “it’s a good feeling, the reserves experience. Just look at that,” he says, pointing at what has become a regular feature of IDF bases in the North: a huge stack of care packages sent by families, locals and assorted nonprofit organizations.
Kobi is less relaxed. A resident of Haifa’s bayside suburbs, his father and a brother are also serving in the army, while his mother and another brother are holed up in a bomb shelter back home. “I kept going to work when the rockets started falling,” he says defiantly. “They can’t stop me.”
“I’ve got no problem with the call-up, just as long as we win,” he declares, adding vehemently, “That’s what everyone here thinks.”