That's not accurate. The IDF did release quite a lot of film showing destroyed launchers, but you had to be watching Israeli media to see it. Our MSM didn't pick it up.
There is good reason to believe that most of the medium and long range missile launchers, which are bigger and therefore easier to spot, are out of commission.
I saw a few films, and I'll agree that no one has seen "any" was not accurate. To be accurate, we should have solid information on how many missiles/launchers Hezbollah had and how many were destroyed, sic, how many remain. I don't believe that Israel can answer that question with a high degree of confidence let alone you or me.
It does look like Israeli intelligence was not up to snuff. That is Barak's fault; he not only pulled out of Lebanon suddenly but he abandoned the SLA. Not good for intelligence.
I believe you over estimate the reach of Israeli intelligence. Overheads and intercepts are nice, but a lot of intelligence is nothing but gossip. It's always been that way, it always will. The better technology gets, the better they learn to hide from it. You then turn to gossip to fill in the blanks.
Did you see how Bush is characterizing the current situation? "A win for diplomacy." If that's the best spin he can get out, that should give you a hint that Israeli success fell far short of it's mark.
Sorry about that, but it was predictable. There was no way that the IDF was going to destroy Hezbollah. Israel created Hezbollah to begin with; an unintended consequence of the occupation of Lebanon.
They said that Israel couldn't afford to lose this one. If Israel loses, the terrorists will be emboldened. So does it really matter if Israel won or is it the perception of an Israeli loss that matters?
jttmab |
