I'm affraid Mr. Pines Paz rejects the ground offensive option too fast. If the current air campaign is not enough to silence Hezbollah's rocket batterys, a big ground offensive will be necessary. Military history shows aerial attacks are in most of cases not enough to win a war by themselves.

Moshe -- I see your point, and certainly you have a better perspective than we do who do not live in Israel. However, what is your plan? How will you defeat Hezb. if you do not go in and clean up. Historically wars have been sone by the ground troops, not the Air Force. In a genreal sense is not the loss of life in a ground operation balanced by the lesser losses to Israel later in the process. If you do not clean up this nest of hornets, they will surely sting you again in the future ggda

These political opportunists did NOTHING when S'derot was attacked and NOTHING when Gush Katif was besieged with missiles. Of course they care more about the citizens of Haifa, Tel Aviv etc. We must hope that even if they won't admit it, that Haifa is being bombed because the political regime lost all their deterrent strength by abandoning the 'ideologically' despised Israeli nationalists. Tragically the average citizen in Israel is paying the huge price of their feckless leadership. In addition, to say that diplomacy will help defang a suicide bombing cult like Hezbollah and Hamas is delusional in the extreme. Once the IAF finishes its aerial raiding, elite forces must go into Lebanon to finish the job. Unlike in Jenin where forces went into alleyways and homes to fight the terrorists, the IAF will have cleared the path for the IDF. They will have to do the mop up. God save Israel from their deluded leaders.

Israel needs to enact a special law that takes effect in times of war. The SHUT-UPA-YOU-FACE law for ALL gov`t. members. The penalty should be a strip of duct tape over the offenders mouth that must be worn for 24 hours. Toda raba.

Moshe's suggestion (#14) to avoid pushing for a ground invasion, especially to those not in the game, is certainly a valid one. Recall that four of the Israeli losses occured in the first hour of this conflict when a tank moved into Lebanon and was hit by a mine. Nasrallah and his scum followers have been training for, and expecting, such an incursion. He was no doubt surprised that Israel has thus far chosen a different battle plan. But at some point, and in some circumstances, boots on the ground will likely prove necessary. Shold that come to pass, one should expect losses to be higher than has been the case so far. As to Pines-Paz' "big mouth", it reminds me that when I was first in Israel years ago, some spoke of the land as having "three million prime ministers". Everyone had an opinion, everyone thought he was right. But most understood that it was inappropriate to speak in public about matters of strategy. Nowadays, Israel is a land of seven million, cabinet discipline is an illusion, and the most egotistical (e.g. Peres) are hardly averse to freelancing. The Oslo process itself started with such freelancing, and look where that got us. Perhaps Pines-Paz should be counted among those who "talk though they do not know". But the nation's strength and unity is undermined when such unrestrained talk presents a mixed message to the populace and the world.

Ground offensives or carpet bombing. Surgical strikes won't work in the end, Hizbullah is dug in too well.

I wish this Osloizer would shut his stupd mouth and quit giving comfort to the enemy. We are in this mess because of this idiot and his ilk's thinking. They should shut up and hide their heads in shame.

that his name is pronounced penis-paz. He is a schmuck!

hitting a bus full of people ,8 kids dies accordingly . that is has nothing to do with hezballah ,just a blood thirsty behavior ... will avenge our dead . to your informations you cowards .....hezballah started this with 20% of the seats in the parliment ...i bet you even the libaneese christians will vote for them . there will never be peace after this atrocity.

I'm really sick of far-right American Jews being so gung-ho about all this, and then freaking out about visiting here because it's 'dangerous'. I have a friend whose family is critical any time anyone suggests that Israel shouldn't implement a full military solution to everything, yet they *balked* when he wanted to join Mahal this year. Yeah, so not YOUR kids. Thanks. Shut your mouth.

Cry me a river. People have been killed here as well. Difference is, you AIM to kill them. Your weak government could not stop them from firing into our country and now you are paying the price. Weakness is a price and weak we are not. And talking of cowards, you have Nasrallah hiding in a pit, Bin-Laden in a cave in a mountain and Hamas comfortably living in Syria letting all their puppets do the dirty work. Look at Sadam Hussein? he was also full of big talk and atrocious actions, he was also dragged out of a pit dirty and scared. All the people you see as martyrs will all meet the same end. Then they can all sit around a nargila and argue with Allah about the meaning of the Koran. But it will be too late by then.

AK - Thank you so much for the link on article. If the advice in the article is not followed, the suffering of the Jewish people will be enormous. Israel must NOT give in to continual U.S. EU UN pressure. An immoral pressure that demands Israel instead of defending herself - does not fight back, but surrenders, giving rewards, Jewish assets and Jewish land to implacable enemies whose goal is the Islamic conquest of Israel and the entire world. The Jewish people have always been a great blessing to the world. May G-D surround every Jew with His powerful guardian angels.

sports minister Pines, go play with your balls this is all you are an expert at. You have no army experience just like olmert, peretz, peres, and sarid. Go throw some balls at the arabs. You live in occupied territory too so give up your home if you vote for hitkansut, set an example instead of shooting off your ignorant mouth!

Well Israel's military power mostly lies on it's airforce, and the only reason that there will be no ground operations, because you are cowards, and afraid of death.On the other hand, hizballahs are waiting impatiently for such an opportunity, since they are capable of inflicting a great damage to your infantry, with high rates of death. That's what your coward goverment is scared of, who waged this coward unbalanced war knowing that they won't have any defensive line against it by air, using only its safety of the airforce. As far as lebanon is vulnarable by air, the coward means of war planes are being used to destroy, and ironicaly that didn't harm hizballah till now trust me. Instead they are more inspired and insising to fight. Israel wake up, honestly, the current war you're afraid and scared of is nothing, heck it can't even be called as war - but ur media is full of exagerrating lies, describing your army's actions as heroics, but there's really no actual force fighting against it.They're just bunch of missles compared to the hundreds of bombs thrown everyday in lebanon, destroying, killing and injuring hundreds, and your media avoids showing these crimes against humanity done by ur army. Your media describes them as hizballah targets, while in reality they are civilian. This war u call is nothing compared to what u will face if syria and iran get involed. They can shoot down aircraft, they have war planes, they have loads of heavier missles, they have proper defence lines, and they have heavy infantry on the ground. Now that will be a real war to be proud of, and not this. Hizballah is nothing in front of ur military force, yet u are making a big deal of it.If the world's 6th military power is scared of just hizballah on the ground, what if Syria or iran attack, will u consider that as another holocaust?? are u ready for that?? Honesly, maybe, and i highly doubt, hizballah will fall because of the air raids, but surely that would be possible by ground forces, with intelligent strategy, and brave soldiers. Not the pussies u have in ur army who are even scared by even a stone thrown on them. btw, I do support ur attacks on hizballah only (afterall they are not wanted in lebanon and they started iran's war over lebanon), but not on innocent people and children, and not on lebanon's vital infrastructure, which are the only victims for 7 days.Thats a crime, and can't be justified as self defense. You don't want ur country to be destroyed, so do we. You have the right to exist, so do we.You want to live in peace and safety, and so to we. Please stop this hate. All the lebanese, except hezballah and its supporters, want peace and normal relations with israel, which was supposed to happen long time ago, but it didn't because of the syrian dictatorship over lebanon, who only supported hizballah. Those ppl were hurt by syria and hezballah,and now they are hurt again and this time by Israel. GO HIT SYRIA & IRAN, they are responsibles,they are your real enemies,and they are the real terrorists.As long as their regime exist, terrorists treathening israel will exist. u know that. Stop being cowards, and show ur power to real powerfull enemies. LEAVE LEBANON ALONE!!!