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Hizbullah achieves deterrence against Israel
From Geostrategy-direct, requires subscriptionIt sounds incredible but a Lebanese militia has managed to achieve effective deterrence against the most powerful military in the Middle East. Israeli commanders have acknowledged that Hizbullah has acquired a missile and rocket arsenal that is so large that the Jewish state does not want to provoke the Iranian-sponsored terrorist group. The commanders said Iran has obtained up to 15,000 short, medium and long-range rockets that could cover most of the country. This is very disconcerting. I would like to see some independent verification. As a result, Hizbullah calls the shots along the Israeli-Lebanese border. The Shi'ite group decides when to attack Israel and how. If Hizbullah wants to conceal its fingerprints, it merely hires Palestinian mercenaries to fire rockets inside Israel. "We can fight and beat Hizbullah," a senior commander said. "That's not the issue. The issue is the cost. Large parts of the north would be destroyed and the casualty rate could be enormous." How enormous was the subject of study recently submitted to Israel's Defense Ministry. It found that Hizbullah could wipe several Israeli communities off the map with a rocket and missile barrage. And Hizb'Allah gets its resources from Iran. It all goes back ultimately to Iran. Even more dangerous was the vulnerability of Israel's northern city of Haifa to Hizbullah rockets. In an assertion supported by military commanders, the study found that Hizbullah could destroy chemical facilities in Haifa that would kill everybody for miles around. Quietly, the General Staff is warning the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that such a threat cannot be tolerated. Senior commanders warn that in any war with Syria, Hizbullah could flatten northern Israel and create a second military front that must be reckoned with. It seems that neutralizing Syria as a base for Hizb'Allah would go along ways in drying up this threat. Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-12-09 |
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