Fashion Statement

I've been asked by a reader about the Lebanese army. So I'm going to talk about the Hizb :-). The first point to note is that we haven't seen any major ground offensive by the Israelis as yet. Please bear that caveat in mind. From what we have seen thus far I think we have to say that Israel assumed that they were dealing with a slightly more efficient version of Hamas or Islamic Jihad. They're paying the price for that assumption now. It looks to me as though the Hizb have carefully studied how the Israelis fight and to a large extent emulated their tactics and doctrine (and come up with some effective countermeasures of their own.) Any escalation by the Israelis is going to hurt and in all probablility hurt so badly that we may have to start substituting "Olmert" for "Pyrrhus": "The armies separated; and, it is said, Pyrrhus replied to one that gave him joy of his victory that one other such would utterly undo him. For he had lost a great part of the forces he brought with him, and almost all his particular friends and principal commanders; there were no others there to make recruits, and he found the confederates in Italy backward. On the other hand, as from a fountain continually flowing out of the city, the Roman camp was quickly and plentifully filled up with fresh men, not at all abating in courage for the loss they sustained, but even from their very anger gaining new force and resolution to go on with the war." The Israelis are demanding that the Lebanese Army secure the border and that this was what they wanted all along. Whatever you say Ehud. They also want an outside force to help the Lebanese army give Ehud a security blanket secure the border area. Sadly they have yet to specify from which planet this force will arrive. Me? I think the Lebanese army uniforms look really snazzy and that the Hizb will look great in them. markfromireland