Via Michael Totten, it appears that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has admitted that his hostage-taking operation was a mistake and that, had he known the outcome of Israel's retailiation, he would not have launched the attack.
On Friday evening, I conducted an interview with New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. When asked how Hezbollah came out of the recent battle, Mr. Friedman echoed this assessment, calling the outcome of the conflict a "devastating defeat for Hezbollah."
I'll be posting the first segment of that interview on Monday. But it seems that the conventional wisdom as to the upshot of Israel's retailiation is shifting.
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1 comment:
David,
I couldn't disagree more with the assessment that Hezbollah has suffered a "devastating defeat." They certainly incurred losses, but in the minds of their "constituents" they fought the formerly invincible IDF to a standstill. Nasrallah's stagey declaration that Hezbollah would never have kidnapped Israeli soldiers if they had thought Israel's response would have been so massive is purely a political move. It is designed to take away any Israeli justification for pushing the IDF further into Lebanon, and to layer on top of the massive cash payouts Lebanese civilians are receiving for their "inconvenience."
I have a fairly indepth piece on the winners and losers here, if you're interested.
Best,
Paul
Sensen No Sen
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