Article

2006-08-01 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Lebanese: Abduction of senior Hizbulllah member foiled

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Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-08-01 18:38|| || Front Page|| [7 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Helo-dropped troops are on the ground in eastern Bekaa - Fox confirms. Making Syria-Hezb resupply trips a little more dangerous? Nabbing Hezb higher-ups? Locating, securing WMD sites? Who knows....

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-08-01 19:13|| 2006-08-01 19:13|| Front Page Top

#2 Sounds like op is on-going. "Failed" may be a little premature.

Posted by Rex Mundi 2006-08-01 19:16|| 2006-08-01 19:16|| Front Page Top

#3 Israel doesnt have enough heliborn/aerial capacity to put a meaningful (enough to cut) force there.

Posted by Clerert Uneamp2772 2006-08-01 19:18|| 2006-08-01 19:18|| Front Page Top

#4 Raid on a hospital apparently serving as a Hezbollah HQ, dozens of helicopters in the air.
I think Israel can move a battalion at least.

Posted by buwaya 2006-08-01 19:22|| 2006-08-01 19:22|| Front Page Top

#5 Yes it can move a battalion can.

But this is a very risky enterprise.

Posted by Clerert Uneamp2772 2006-08-01 19:57|| 2006-08-01 19:57|| Front Page Top

#6 Israel should buy some AC-130's if they are going to do stuff like this.

Posted by crosspatch">crosspatch 2006-08-01 20:16|| http://crosspatch.townhall.com]">[http://crosspatch.townhall.com] 2006-08-01 20:16|| Front Page Top

#7 crosspatch, two words: Lend/Lease

Posted by Scott R">Scott R 2006-08-01 20:36|| http://five24.net]">[http://five24.net] 2006-08-01 20:36|| Front Page Top

#8 Well, then there's the whole training thing. If they are going to conduct special ops raids like this, they should have the firepower loitering above to back it up.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Dropping into Baalbek is pretty much sticking your arm directly into the hornets nest. There are probably Syrians, Iranians, and who knows who elseians in there. That is their training base and their logistics base. HQ for the Iranian revolutionary guards in Lebanon and former HQ of the Syrian forces. It would be like Iran trying to pull off a helocopter raid of the hospital at Ft. Bragg.

I only hope we aren't getting the whole story.

Posted by crosspatch">crosspatch 2006-08-01 20:42|| http://crosspatch.townhall.com]">[http://crosspatch.townhall.com] 2006-08-01 20:42|| Front Page Top

#9 "It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Dropping into Baalbek is pretty much sticking your arm directly into the hornets nest."

Indeed

Posted by Clerert Uneamp2772 2006-08-01 20:45|| 2006-08-01 20:45|| Front Page Top

#10 Haaretz is reporting Lebanese sources claiming that another unit has been inserted near Baalbek.

Posted by crosspatch">crosspatch 2006-08-01 20:46|| http://crosspatch.townhall.com]">[http://crosspatch.townhall.com] 2006-08-01 20:46|| Front Page Top

#11 Reuters:

"We have so far now about six efforts running inside Lebanon ... brigade-size or even bigger than brigade-size efforts in each one of them," Israeli Brigadier General Shuki Shahur said. An Israeli brigade usually has at least 1,000 soldiers.

Posted by crosspatch">crosspatch 2006-08-01 20:56|| http://crosspatch.townhall.com]">[http://crosspatch.townhall.com] 2006-08-01 20:56|| Front Page Top

#12 "We have so far now about six efforts running inside Lebanon ... brigade-size or even bigger than brigade-size efforts in each one of them," Israeli Brigadier General Shuki Shahur said. An Israeli brigade usually has at least 1,000 soldiers.

No it is not. There arent 1000 men brigades in conventional armies. Why a BG would say how many efforts are there at time of war it only can be for desinformation.

Posted by Clerert Uneamp2772 2006-08-01 20:59|| 2006-08-01 20:59|| Front Page Top

#13 Or it could be a double fake on the Hizzies : announce the real number, knowing that people will think it is disinformation. Then once the operation is done, point out that you had told everyone the whole truth about the number of troops involved. Gains your spokesman credibility with the media and sets up propaganda opportunities in the future.

Posted by Shieldwolf 2006-08-01 21:28|| 2006-08-01 21:28|| Front Page Top

#14 one thing fo sho some shit is going down

Posted by Legolas 2006-08-01 21:31|| 2006-08-01 21:31|| Front Page Top

#15 There might be differences in size between wartime and peacetime too. Brigades might have some reserve battalions that are not part of the active unit and are only called up in emergency.

But different armies have different sized units. A Russian division during the cold war was about the size of a US reinforced brigade.

I have seen the Golani Brigade estimated at 2000 in combat so if the journalist was using a 1000 peacetime average number ... that might explain it.

Posted by crosspatch">crosspatch 2006-08-01 21:33|| http://crosspatch.townhall.com]">[http://crosspatch.townhall.com] 2006-08-01 21:33|| Front Page Top

#16 DEBKAfile reports: A fleet of helicopters drops large Israeli special forces Tuesday night at the Shiite village of Shraifa west of Hizballahs E. Lebanon stronghold of Baalbek

August 2, 2006, 12:44 AM (GMT+02:00)

The Hizballahs Beqaa commander Muhammad Yazbek is reported by DEBKAfiles exclusive sources as having converted the Dar al Hikmeh Hospital in the village into the headquarters for his staff. Israel troops who made for this target are engaged in heavy clashes around the building.

Lebanese witnesses report an unprecedented number of Israeli warplanes over the Beqaa valley Tuesday night and aerial strikes against five Hizballah positions near Baalbek. From the Mediterranean, Israel naval artillery pounded Hizballah rocket sites on the Lebanese shore.

DEBKAfiles senior military sources report Israel is going all out Tuesday night in an effort to finally overwhelm Hizballah on all fronts and generate conditions for the deployment of a multinational force

Posted by Legolas 2006-08-01 21:54|| 2006-08-01 21:54|| Front Page Top

#17 i know i know- debka take with a grain of salt

Posted by Legolas 2006-08-01 21:54|| 2006-08-01 21:54|| Front Page Top

#18 Reports are now that fighting has ended and all is now quiet in Baalbek.

Posted by crosspatch">crosspatch 2006-08-01 22:17|| http://crosspatch.townhall.com]">[http://crosspatch.townhall.com] 2006-08-01 22:17|| Front Page Top

#19 did the Israelis win loose or pause in Baalbeck?

Posted by 3dc 2006-08-01 22:22|| 2006-08-01 22:22|| Front Page Top

#20 Reuters is reporting "militants" captured and returned to Israel. AP is reporting 3 captured and all IDF returned safely.

Posted by crosspatch">crosspatch 2006-08-01 22:55|| http://crosspatch.townhall.com]">[http://crosspatch.townhall.com] 2006-08-01 22:55|| Front Page Top

#21 heh heh

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-08-01 23:03|| 2006-08-01 23:03|| Front Page Top

#22 Debka can be questionable, but, as I recall, they were the first site to talk about the Iraqi WMD moving into the Beeka valley.

Posted by Brett 2006-08-01 23:11|| 2006-08-01 23:11|| Front Page Top

#23 From Haaretz:

The IDF reported at daybreak on Wednesday that its troops returned from the operation to their base in Israel unharmed. IDF also reported that Hezbollah militants sustained some casualties during the fighting and that several militants were captured by the IDF and taken back to Israel.

Posted by crosspatch">crosspatch 2006-08-01 23:50|| http://crosspatch.townhall.com]">[http://crosspatch.townhall.com] 2006-08-01 23:50|| Front Page Top

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