MK Sarsur: PM threatens Syria, playing with fire

[bemildred]

Personally, I think Olmert is just getting the "We held back" meme out there as an excuse for the poor showing.

Chairman of the United Arab List-Ta'al party, Knesset Member Ibrahim Sarsur, said that "the prime minister is playing with fire," by stating that Israel will exercise no restraints in a future campaign against Syria.


"While the Arab countries are working on a peace deal with Israel, that will be presented to the UN Security Council at the end of the month, Olmert chooses to threaten Syria and reject initiatives for talks with the Palestinians." (Roee Nahmias)

Ynet

[bemildred]

1. Olmert: Recent War was Deterrent to Hostilities with Syria

Yet another reason why the war was really a good thing after all.

In his first meeting with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee since the war began, Olmert told lawmakers, "If we have go to war with Syria, we will do away with the limitations on the use of force we placed upon ourselves in Lebanon."

During the war, the government said it did not prevent the military establishment from carrying out its plans. Senior army officers contradicted that claim and said the ground assault was delayed several days by the government.

Reserve officers have complained about lack of strategic guidance and concrete military plans, old equipment and inadequate training, which they said increased the number of casualties sustained by the ground forces.

Nonetheless, Olmert maintained that the war in southern Lebanon sent a clear message to Syria. "What we have done in Lebanon amounts to a deterring element against the Syrians, because they now realize that, while in Lebanon we restrained our use of force, in a campaign against them we will not adhere to such restraints," he asserted.

Arutz Sheva

[acmavm]

2. Olmert is a sabre-rattling war criminal who just may get his

comeuppance if the entire region decides they've had enough of his shit.

Only time will tell. I have this feeling that this talk of 'doing away with the limitations' they imposed on themselves they just find that just like Lebanon, they might not just be able to mosey in and take over. For so many years Israel has relied on its reputation as the Middle East Barney Badass (due to how easy it won the Six Day War). Just like another criminal regime I can think of it may be finding that it won't be as easy as they think it will be.

[bemildred]

4. The "we were held back" excuse is old as the hills.

It borders on predictable, and was hardly invented by Olmert and his minions. One can find it being used by the French, the Germans, the Japanese, almost anyone that ever got their ass kicked. It is almost diagnostic of being a fool to go off to war in a state of happy optimism or angry enthusiasm. The Churchillian approach ("blood, sweat, and tears") is more realistic.

[Solo_in_MD]

5. Nasrallah and Assasd are no better

and should share in the condemnation

[acmavm]

7. Ah, they aren't the ones who went and murdered innocent civilians in

Lebanon, were they?

[Solo_in_MD]

12. They did in Israel

Any effort to go after one side and not the other for war crimes will be seen as baised, and rightfully so.

[acmavm]

13. Who bombed apartment buildings full of innocent civilians? Who

destroyed a country's infrastructure knowing that a humanitarian crisis would follow? What country proudly showed photographs of its childred signing the bombs that the would use to kill other children?

Take a quick look around. Israel and it's lame excuses don't fly anymore. Their only support is the corrupt neos and traitors to this country like the boys of AIPAC.

The Europeans are refusing to let Israel shipments of arms land in their countries for refueling.

Israel has overplayed its hand and used the poor poor pitiful me excuses too many times. And their enemy has had time to figure out that it's either fight to the death or be wiped out. And they're going to have to go it alone. The only help the war criminals running this country will be able to give is armaments. But that's not going to be enough this time. They'll bring down the whole middle east on their heads if they start bombing Syria and Iran.

[orwell]

14. In other words...

...no more Mr. Nice Guy?

[snappyturtle]

3. I'm sorry..............

but Israel wants peace! :sarcasm:

I think Olmert is trying to up his numbers and save his political butt.

[Solo_in_MD]

6. Israel did hold back

Personally, I think Olmert is just getting the "We held back" meme out there as an excuse for the poor showing.

The facts are that the IDF did hold back, using a strategy reminiscent of Vietnam. It failed. Next time (and if the 1701 does not stop the attacks there will be a next time), they will not be nearly so restrained. Also expect commando raids/air strikes to continue whenever the IDF has intel that there are arms shipments in route.

[bemildred]

8. Sure they did, and it is still an excuse. nt

[Solo_in_MD]

9. Look forward instead of looking back

The general attitude in Israel is that they should have kicked Nasarallah's ass. This will not be allowed to happen again. The next conflict (and there will be one if an armed Hezbollah is allowed to continue to poke as Israel), will be much more vicious.

The IDF could have scorched the earth to the Litani and up the Bekaa valley. If there is a round two, they will.

[acmavm]

10. Yeah, it will be much more vicious. On BOTH sides.

[Solo_in_MD]

11. Its not clear that Hezbollah can do much more

For example, the conventional wisdom is that if they had more C-802 missiles they would have used them.

Facts are the Hezbollah is a militia in terrain they know intimately. They can defend that ground well, but their ability to attack elsewhere is limited. Unless they have time to rebuild and restructure, they can not do much more that what they have already shown, otherwise they would have done it.

The only way it could get worse is the intervention of outside forces, most likely Syria and the Lebanese national army, though a DU poster has theorized that a French lead UNIFIL might actually do something too. In that case it goes from a counter insurgency op to conventional war. Last time that happened, Israeli armor would have been in Damascus had the super powers not intervened.

I expect things to flare again, possibly within the next 6-12 months.