Why are you going into the christian territories of north lebanon? Your war is with the Hizbullah. Why doesn't Israel have intellengence that can find the 2 hostages and retrieve them? Why should a whole country suffer for two soldiers? Syria and Iran control and promote the Hizbullah (this is universally known). They are the ones challenging Israel....go attack them.

weapon supplies are stored and radar installations are in the north

Even the most cursory visit through the lands in question will reqard one with the information that Tripoli and the Northern Beqaa, especially the area around Hermel are not Christian areas of Lebanon. The Northern Beqaa is as solidly Hezbollah controlled as Tyre. Tripoli, while solidly Sunni rather than Shia and hence not Hezbollah, is more than welcoming to Hamas, other Islamist Organizations, and, when there's a common enemy, Hezbollah. In short, Lebanon is not neatly divided into North = Christian, South = Shia. Facts, people.

"Why should a whole country suffer for 2 (kidnapped)soldiers(and more 8 dead ones)?" I explain it to you: It is because another country-Israel-has suffered an atack in its sovereign territory and has been suffering for A FEW SICK MINDS,who commands a guerrila group in Lebanon , which is threatening 2 million Israelis( they are suffering as well!) lving in the north Israel,and about whom the supposedly responsable Lebanese government is doing nothing in order to deter them. Someone has to do something then,otherwise more Israelis will die-Gód forbid! Can you understand why now?

Stories are now saying that Israel is attacking Christian areas of Lebanon. Christians have been allies or Israel, and look to it as a counterweight against Lebanon's Moslem/Druze majority. A Christian army in the south fought for Israel during the occupation. NOW ISRAEL SEEMS WILLING TO BLOW CHRISTIAN SUPPORT AWAY. T H I S I S M A D N E S S

Where have you been for the past 10 years or so? This is NOT about two Israeli soldiers. This is about terror inflicted on Israel since the beginning of time! Iran is backing this, that is a given for anyone graduated from color books. This was planned and carried out to provoke Israel into war. Well now they have it. WHY into Northern Lebanon? Ask the Hezzies who hide behind civilians. Perhaps they are in chruch today hiding behind the Christians. They are a devious and evil presence that must be destroyed whever they are.

Israel has killed at least 100 civilians since its onslaught against Lebanon. Just today, the Israeli Air Force bombed a road on which two vans were traveling killing at least 12 people. Go to news.yahoo.com and check out the reports and the slideshows and see for yourself. This is not a war against terrorism; this is a collective punishment against the innocent Lebanese people, whom mostly do not even support Hizbullah in the first place. Enough violence, enough killing, enough torture and humiliation. Lebanon has seen enough atrocities from Israel. The whole world is silent while innocents are being killed everyday. Is this what the "democracy" that Israel and the USA stands for!

Good Doctor, Hizbullah is permitted to operate freely in Lebanon a sovereign nation state. Thus Lebanon bears the responsibilty to disarm non state actors that control its southern border. While Syria and Iran pull the strings, Lebanon is the only one with the power and obligation to stop them (other than Israel of course). Lebanons failure to do so, is a violation of its obligations under the peace treaty and UN mandate. This is why Lebanon should be targeted until it takes the requisite action or until Israel wipes out the problem. It is regrettable but such is the responsibility that comes with statehood. Only the state can act as the legitimate use of force in a nation state.

One poster asks if Israel is going crazy in Lebanon, another asks why the north? Well, 500 Katys have hit Israel, not disciminateing against civilians, military, women, children, secular or Orthodox. Hezbollah stated this fight, when allowed to accumulate 10,000 rockets aimed at Israel, in spite of Israel's withdrawal and UN criticism. So, Israel owes Lebanon (which allowed Hezbollah to operate_, nothing, you hear, posters, nothing. There are apparently targets worthwhile hitting in the north, and the Bekaa Valley, also near the Syrian border (supplies Hezbollah), Is Israel crazy, yes, for allowing this to fester. Now Israel is made the fall guy, typically. What do you posters expect, Israel to fire bagels at Hezbollah and Hamas? Get real folks. This is a war. Would you like it if your US cities were hit from Mexico or Canada? The answer is obvious.

Because that is the front that Iran and Syria are fighting against Israel. Because there is where they have stored thousands and thousands of misiles and rockets. Because they hide them among civilians of a country that does nothing to prevent it. Because they think that is enough to keep Israel from doing nothing if they, one day, decide to atack and kill a few and take hostage some others. Only a simple mater of strategy Dr. Turing, or in the big picture, an itch long needed to be scratched.

Christians in Lebanon must act to punish Hizballah - throw them out of your godforsaken country. Kill them all, or Israel will do it for you. I hope you do not die, sir. But if your country harbors Hizballah, and you die as a result of Israel's self-defense, I will not feel sorry for you. Not one bit. DIE HIZBALLAH - DIE NASRALLA - DIE.

Attacking Hizbollah is the right thing to do. Destroying Hizbollah's infrastructures in the south of Lebanon is the right thing to do. But attacking Christian populated areas such as Junieh is insane. The IDF knows exactly where each ethnic group resides. Therefore there is no logic behind attacking Christian dominated areas.

Whats the matter party of defeat / no more celebration in Beirut ? For too long the Lebanese turned a blind eye to what was going on . Now they cry along with hezbollah supporters here. They thought Israel would not fight ! they are shocked that the Jew fights determined and strongly against their jihad war to destroy Israel. A confused and doubleminded hypocrite Lebanese Maronite Christian from Beirut says 'his hezbollah friends' are staying while he flees to Syria. I warned this fools not to run to Syria ,but he like so many confused Lebanese Christian's ,Druze,ect. wonder why they suffer. I tell them you did nothing to stop hezbollah's threat to Israel from the south of their country ,you failed to send the Lebanese army there and you only made excuses about your weakness and made your bed and your accomodations with the snakes hezbollah even after Israel requested that you act. You ignored Israel's plea and now all suffer. This Maronite Christian flake from Beirut has now changed his mind about Israel. He misses the old Israel which didn't fight back ,the weak Israel that restrained itself and retreated and appeased the terrorists. He dosen't like the new Israel and now understand his 'friends' in hezbollah better. sais in the beginning he

israel's madness in lebanon right now is beyond logic. not only are they now alienating lebanese christians by bombing their areas, they are alienating the non-shite lebanese population of druze and sunnis through the systematic destruction of infrastructure and economic assets. istrael and the u.s. know all too well that short of a civil war, lebanon can't disarm hizbollah. we couldn't disarm the palestinians, we were occupied by syria, and they only (physically) left after lebanon paid a heavy price. lebanon is a unique disfunctional country. it's one of a kind. we're on the front lines of hell, caught in the middle of "suck on it". so don't tell me the lebanese government and people are responsible for hizbollah's action. they're the only well armed force in the country. even the lebanese army can't take them on. besides, half the lebanese army is shite meaning they won't take arms against HA. i can appreciate israel's anger but burning down lebanon and alienating 65-70 % of the non-shite pro-western population is insane. i learned this from iraq : we need an exit strategy. well, israel has painted itself in a corner and as things stand now, they have no exit strategy from this crisis. they're planting the seeds for a fundemental islamic northern neighbors allied with hamas, iran and syria, and paving the way for a major civil war between christians, druze and sunnis on one hand and shites on the other that will make iraq look like child play.

Go to yahoo. See how the media plays the events to inflame the public. Of course civilians are getting hurt or killed. They choose to put themselves in the middle by hiding rockets in their homes! NOW, there is a photo out by Routers (the same one who is alwasy slanted against Israel) that shows a "civilian" at his destroyed business holding up two bloody rags that appear to be dangling half bodies! Horrific? Yes, BUT look at other photos at same scene and you will see this man had a clothing store and these are manequins! NO ONE should evaluate this war based on a photo op! I am sorry civilians are getting killed. THe same goes for my Israeli brothers and sisters who did not ask to be ambushed or bombed by the maggots walking upright! Get a grip on reality...this is a war! We can only hope and pray Israel can defeat these idiots...no one else cares.

your country behaves like a bunch of children. two SOLDIERS are taken and you destroy an entire country, kill over 70 civilians? what on god's earth are you people thinking? your behavior is an embarassment. you are americas pit bull, and you just got off your leash, jumped through your neighbors windows, and started biting and terrorizing at random. what a disgrace. this is not how civilized countries act.

about this whole situation is the realization that such ill-informed people are surfing the internet rather than getting educated on Middle East politics and religion. Go to the library and come back in about 10 years and post an E D U C A T E D opinion on why this really happened. You are simply passing on bad spin.

Lebanese Christians are a minority in their country. They can't act effectively against Hezbollah, as much as they would like to. They look to Israel as one source of protection. And now Israel turns against them. ISRAEL HAS A SAD HISTORY OF TURNING ON ITS FRIENDS AND PICKING HORRIBLE PEOPLE AS ITS ALLIES: IDI AMIN OF UGANDA, SHAH OF IRAN, APARTHEID REGIME OF SOUTH AFRICA. IT IS MADNESS !!!!!!!!!!

I can only blame the schools and media here in the US for the de-emphasis of history, our greatest teacher. I blame the media for its hesitation to report in the US all the facts because it is still trying to find a way to involve Bush negatively. Islamic terrorism is a sad reality and does not consider its own people except as instruments of terror or pawns to be shown to get media attention. Irans role in this, the dedication to the destruction of Israel, these are not simple irritations to shrug off. I swear the liberal element still holds Neville Chamberlain in high regard...

Just by reading this talkback one can see that it doesn't matter what the world thinks. Ignorant and biased gentiles will always turn on Israel in the hour of our need. So we may as well go ahead and finish the job the way we need to do.

Civilized countries don't turn a blind eye to terrorist organizations operating on their soil. While Lebanon has a fledgling democracy, they choose not to act against terrorists and they had to know that Iranian technicians were flooding in their country to assist the terrorists in setting up their missile launch area. Syria was warned by Israel and the UN I believe. They should have listened.

Helloooooooo....do you think Israel is spending millions of shekels and suffering loss of military lives just because it ENJOYS bombing civilians? This is a war, it did not just start a few days ago. It is unfortunate, as wars are, but an objective reading of even the most basic history will point out that they have been under attack for quite a long time, and that this battle, like most of Israels actions, is an act of survival. Pleeeeeze read up on the region before you waste more time spewing nonsense.

you are 100% right!! we must do it now before it goes any further. sharon, & mofaz would have done it allready. it looks like the pm & dm don't know just what to do. death to all who make unnecessary war with our homeland!!!

who the hell do you think they are allied with now?Do not mess with Israel,becuse it will be the death of you.

I understand your frustration. I don't wish to comment on what the rest of the world thinks, rather Israel's response to their approval, or lack of. The Jewish people and Israel as a whole have depended on the gentile world far too long. Perhaps this is the ultimate message from hashem. Our strength does not come from any source save G-d. Our betachon should remain only with Him. Jerusalem Councel woman Mina Finton said it best in her printed statement regarding the goyim (my word). "Israel has become too dependant on aid from others". There is always a price to pay. As long as you are breathing there is something you can do to perfect your area of this world. NEVER give up! And never concern yourself with the opinion of those outside Torah principles. My prayers are with you. --ilana

Pals, never provoke IDF! Israel needs and must defend its citizens, its land and its independence. Do not forget to take care of Syria later on. Israel must establish and enforce a defence/ofence doctrine in the region. Israel gets things done. Way to go IDF.

Having jsut returned from Vegas, I can only assume that you have been out too long in the sun Edward. Israel has for 6 years acted with the utmost restraint towards southern Lebanon as terrorists sent rockets into Israeli towns and villages without regard for human life. After 6 years of asking Lebanon to live up to its UN resoluted obligations regarding disarming hezbullah, and geting no response, Israel retaliated for a breach of its borders and the murder and kidnapping of its servicemen. this is an open act of warfare and those who instigate a war have no business crying foul about what is proportionate or not.

This is what happens when you support terrorists. They shouldn't complain about what they brought on themselves. GO IDF!

The Lebanese and the Palestinians have suffered for years at the hands of this evil regime. Israel can continue with its inhumane actions but we will never give up and we will never go away. The Lebanese have always been a resiliant people. Long live Lebanon!!!!!

we will win this war and destroy the trashy israelians..