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March 29, 2007
Iwo Jima in Lebanon
Inside Hizballah's Hidden Bunkers
The elaborate network of bunkers and fortified firing positions built over a six-year period in sealed-off valleys and hilltops throughout south Lebanon was key to Hizballah's ability to survive Israel's onslaught during last summer's month-long war. Israeli soldiers spoke of Hizballah fighters bursting out of the ground to loose off a rocket-propelled grenade before disappearing into the earth again. Israeli air crews hunted, often in vain, for the sources of Katyusha rocket fire, sometimes emanating from within a few hundred yards of the border. One bunker complex discovered and dynamited by Israeli troops a week after the cease-fire reportedly covered more than a square mile and was fitted with hot and cold running water and air conditioning.
To read the entire story, please click here.
It is important to note that just as on Iwo Jima, air power alone cannot root out, nor destroy sophisticated bunkers filled with terrorists who are there expressly to die. It is only a solid and well-planned ground offensive, with seasoned troops, that can annihilate such an enemy.
Make no mistake about it, Round #2 between Iran (Hizbullah) and Israel is coming soon. Let us hope and pray that Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and the rest of the incompetents of this shameful government will be soon gone, and true warriors, committed to total victory over the Iranian lapdogs in Southern Lebanon, are firmly in office.
A replay of last summer's fiasco will be disastrous for Israel, and for Western civilization.
Hat Tip: Seraphic Friend, Jake Novak.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at March 29, 2007 12:21 PM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
Round #1 changed the terms of political and armed conflict throughout the Middle East--Israel proved they could be defeated, giving hope to every bad actor in the region.
Let us pray that in Round #2 the Israeli Defense Force re-establishes its former reputation, which will save a lot of Arab, Jewish, and likely Persian blood in the long run.
Hint: No war plan has ever succeeded absent sufficient ruthless foot soldiers and the will to set them loose. The IDF's "shock and awe" campaign last year fizzled, as did ours in 2003, and as has every strategic air campaign in history (see the Blitz, Dresden, Kosovo, etc.), with the possible exception of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hizballah's fighters are better and more motivated even than they were last year, now that they have "battle honors" and a reputation to uphold.
Posted by: MAJ Virgil Hilts at March 29, 2007 02:25 PM
Of course, as usual, Robert offers the most succinct hint in his initial commentary: annihilate. Nothing less will have the needed effect.
Posted by: MAJ Virgil Hilts at March 29, 2007 02:39 PM
Maj Hilts:
Heh, heh, picked up on that word "annihilate" didja? And don't think that I didn't notice your use of the phrase: "ruthless foot soldiers." Which is what our troops turned into on Tarawa, Iwo, Guadalcanal, Mosul, Fallujah, etc; as the Israelis will have to in Southern Lebanon very soon.
I'll be in touch.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.seraphicpress.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at March 29, 2007 03:11 PM
And let's be honest: Hezbo could never have built these bunkers, were it not for the so-called "innocent civilians" in those neighborhoods who turned a blind eye, or worse, gave the jihadis their full blessings. If these civilians die in the ensuing dust-up, they have no one to blame but themselves. Even if they are idle bystanders, the fact that they are passive does not render them innocent; it renders them accomplices to the evils of the jihadi thugs.
Posted by: a. acacia at March 29, 2007 04:55 PM
Acacia:
Many bunkers thread their way directly from "civilian apartments" into "civilian back yards."
It is part of the Iranian/Palestinian/Islamic/playbook: to place Israel in a moral quandry--that is not a quandry for any Islamic regime or terrorist.
The idea being: turn the Jew into a mirror image of the Islamic terrorist.
It's an evil and clever ploy.
When it doesn't work, they make the accusations anyway.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at March 29, 2007 05:11 PM