Can Israel still win? 8/08/06

I have not written much about the war in Lebanon for two reasons.
Firstly I am sickened with the political/military performance of the government,to the point that I am watching less and less cable news.
Secondly, I am sensitive to the charges of many, that after all I am not a General, and should leave the war to the professionals.
My blog of July 27 quotes from Caroline Glick's JP column regarding the military leadership. The military shakeup today confirms these doubts.
It is not only the military that needs a shake-up but the security cabinet.It needs the addition of some seasoned military men or civilians who were involved in the Ministry of Defense.These include Moshe Arens, General Armidror (former head of military intelligence ) and Gen Yaalon (former military Chief of Staff). There are plenty of such men available.
Even the pace of Security Cabinet meetings appear to be routinely scheduled,instead of responding to the realization that things are not going well.(2-3 weeks ago)
Yes I am not a military man, but unless they get not 5000 but 15-20,000 additional
ground troops to seal the Litani ,Israel will have a hard time stopping the rockets into the north.
Hezbollah will only accept an international force in the south, if its force is degraded in that region.
After the war there must be real soul searching on failures in intelligence,training, tactics, and the weaponry and equipment supplied to reserve troops.

UPDATE/ LIBYAN HOSPITALITY 8/08/06

The Homowack Hotel was indeed sold to a group in Skwer,but for the time is remaining open under OU supervision under the name Spring Mountain Resort (certainly until the end of the holidays).



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I will be serving as a scholar-in-residence on a kosherica cruise to the Greek Isles at the end of the month.Costa Lines writes in their booklet that travelers on a cruise that stops in Libya and have an ISRAELI passport ,or a stamp from Israel in their PASSPORT,OR BORN IN ISRAEL,WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DISEMBARK.
ALL GUESTS OF AMERICAN NATIONALITY,OR OF ANOTHER NATIONALITY,BUT BORN IN THE USA WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO DISEMBARK IN TRIPOLI.
If Costa had some courage, they would tell the Libyans,that either all their passengers can get off safely,or they will simply skip their country.

Hypocrisy/ 8/03/06

Every day the NYT and other media reports on the loss of innocents in Iraq and now again in Afghanistan.Many victims are children ,while others are adults (non-combatants) blown up while attending funerals,religious services or trying to travel to work.Buses are hijacked ,and the occupants found blindfolded and slaughtered.
It is a rare day,that upwards of 100 civilians are not murdered in sectarian violence.
Strangely,we witness not a single demonstration or march in a Muslim Country or in Europe ,or Australia/New Zealand against such inhumanity.
When however Hezbollah,fighting without uniforms(thereby giving up any protection of the Geneva Convention),park their armementariun and rocket launchers within civilian populations (who they use as human shields),the world screams when Israel unavoidably injures or kills some civilians, in the course of self defense.(which is of course the aim of Hezbollah).
"Where do Jews get off defending themselves with such dispaportionality "screams the world.
"Jews are supposed to suffer and not be victorious or build a homeland"
"JEWISH BLOOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN CHEAP"-and the world is prepared to say Amen.
As far as the world is concerned,it is only Pres. George Bush that is obstructing
the efforts of the French,the UN and the Arab world to bring about a Hezbollah victory(with a lot of Olmert/Peretz incompetence).
As we've said before anti-semitism is alive and flourishing.