Mistakes were made that resulted in the death of soldiers and likely needless civilian deaths (more the fault of Hizbullah hiding in towns and firing missiles from them...all verifiable from pictures that were taken of them doing it). However, they captured and held territory in Lebanon and gave it up on their own terms (when there was sufficient international pressure) and the huge weapons replenishment happened AFTER Israel left 99% of Lebanon and it didnt happen on Israel's watch. I would call what Hizbullah did much of a victory. But I guess when you are as desperate to claim everything as a victory as Hizbullah is , I guess they won....legends in their own mind. Israel wont be this disorganized the next time (G-d willing their wont be).

so desperate for a victory, so desperate for self esteem, you call this a victory. to use a sports term, you covering the spread. meaning you did better than you were supposed to. but you lost on the scoreboards.

VICTORY MUST BE SO SWEET, I'M SURE TOURISM IS THRIVING, PROBABLY TRIPLED BECAUSE AFTER ALL EVERYONE WANTS TO VISIT A WINNER, AM I WRONG?

I love the way everyone is in denial when it comes to this issue. War is based on objectives. Please tell us what objectives (if any) did the IDF accomplish during the war? hahaha this is going to be interesting! And for anyone that asks me what Hezbollah accomplished, they survived the war which was one of ohmerts objectives and a prisoner swap which is underway!

Yes , Hizbollah won and Israel lost ! May be Hizbollah can now be generous and release the 2 soldiers. That would really confuse the Israelis and bolster Hizbollah's standing !

like hiding behind women and children then yes, Hizbollah won and apparently those who call others idiots think it's OK

They can have olmert.peretz and halutz and we will take nass-roller. We were fighting with a terrible handicap under the kadima/labor gang. They can take the hara-dim also and then they will not have money to rearm.

Oh yes your right Hezbollah were hiding behind women and children as the IDF has shown us plenty of evidence of that! Wait let me guess. Hezbollah were hiding in the UN base having tea and crumpets when the IDF blew it apart too?

i know wht u mean thts why u won the war in VIETNAM AND U ALSO WINNING THE WAR IN IRAK AND IRAN TALK ABOUT A BIG LAUGH

no matter what nasrallah says or does, the claim that he won is an illusion. no one won in this war at all. not israel and not hizbullah. no one lost either. the only thing that was accomplished is the total destruction of lebanon's infrastructure and people's lives, total chaos and total devastation and over 1000 death, many of them hizbullah fighters. israel did not loose its country, but something more precious...the lives of 50 brave individuals who were sent without an agenda and a plan to their death. poor leadership, not anti tank missiles killed these soldiers. the same arabs claimed that the 1967 war and the yom kipur war resulted in their victory. but we all know arabs are masters at revising historical facts. hay, if they want to call the destruction of lebanon a win, let them! israel put in back 20 years. it'll take them forever to rebuild. i pity these people that are more concerned about winning than peace, human lives and the defense of their citizens. what a looser mentality.

May Allah grant Hizbullah many more victories like this!!! May Allah grant Hizbullah's allies the same victories against the Zionist entity! Many, many more victories. A few more victories like this and it'll all be a moot point...

Nice speech buddy. You sounded like George Bush for a sec. "No one won....No one lost"? hahaha first time ive heard that one! "the only thing that was accomplished is the total destruction of lebanon's infrastructure". Yeah too bad ohmert didn't mention this objective at the beginning. I would have congratulated him on a job ALL done! "50 brave individuals"??? Mate get someone to count for you if your having trouble counting above 50. "I pity these people that are more concerned about winning than peace, human lives and the defense of their citizens." Whos freakin side are you on coz it sounds like your talking to IDF. "if they want to call the destruction of lebanon a win, let them! israel put in back 20 years. it'll take them forever to rebuild. " hahaha do you actually think that bothers the lebanese. Yes it may take 20 years to rebuild but tell me how long it will take Israel to rebuild its reputation after loosing a war to Hezbollah? A dignified death is better than a humiliating life!

I don't know if I am one of the wisest person on earth, but WAR has no winners or losers. WAR is not a football game. Amazing fact, medals are given even to the dead. Perhaps because I am a woman, I believe that the stupid destruction that WAR brings, is senseless and has no purpose, at all. Each side have ideals to 'iron' out - killing will not prove that their ideals are any better than the others. Of course, EVIL has many facets and this might be the underlying cause for so much hate. Bottom line - no winners or losers in WAR.....

and for so many times. this world has lost it. lost it totaly. the lies that are flying around are shocking. and its all cos the gentiles are so jealous of the jewish people. poor gentiles it must be so bad being born one.

JEWS WILL RULE THE WORLD SOON.

It was Livni who went to the French begging for a "cease fire". In fact it was nothing short of a surrender. Livni "negotiated" and caved to the French while Olmert sent men to their deaths in a fake "offensive" for spin. Face facts, Israel's "leaders" lost the war and surrendered to Hizbollah and Iran with the help of the lying French. Since the surrender, Israel has still not seen or heard from the kidnapped soldiers and Hizbollah has more rockets than when it started out. Since the "cease fire" Livni hasn't said a peep on the world stage about either situation. Ehud even ended the blockade in return for a French promise to stop threatening to shoot down Israeli drones and jets. Kol Hakavod Ehud...Kol Hakavod Tzipi !! So if that's a victory for Israel, I wonder what a loss will look like? It's time to get real and fix the situation. But the Israeli polls say Israel learned ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and is just as stupid as a year ago when they elected Olmert. The polls say 51% of Israelis give Livni high marks. Kiol Hakavod Israel!!

What was Hezballah's objective when they killed and kisnapped Israeli soldiers? Was it to have the IDF strike Beirut and kill thousands of people? Was it to show the world that they are really cowrds who fire rockets from civilian areas while hiding behind thier sisters? Israel didn't win or lose anything. They could have carpet bombed beirut adn killed everyone, but instead they sent in ground troops (which many were killed) to avoid further civilian losses. So Harry, if that is your real name, when you speak so highly of Hezballah, a terror group, think about what they actually accomplished...nothing!!!

" A diginified death is better than a humiliating life" Bla bla bla. What are doing in Kansas? Go to Lebanon, join Hezballah and die already. People like you who defend and make excuses for terror are a dying breed anyways. Go join your heroes, fire rockets into Israel, kidnap 18 year old boys and pretend to "win" something. I'm sure nasrallah will welome you with open arms and then strap a suicide belt on you before you can even kiss his ass. Good luck!!!

What if world war 2 never happened? What would Europe be like? Would there even be an Israel? Probably not. No one will argue that war is good, but it is sometimes a neccessary evil to save good people form bad ones. It is sad that in todays society there are evil people who only want death and destruction and who use terror as a means to reach their goals. I believe that going after these scumbags is the only way to stop them. You cannot talk to people ( like Harry from Kansas) rationally, they just don't get it.

Yes, we did tremendous distraction for Lebanon. But destroying the civilian infrastructure not working out as factor of deterrent or punishment.. We have been doing that for Palestinian for years so far with no outcome. This just damaging the reputation of Israel all over the world and these actions are stocked on our history archive as brutal memory for the Jewish nation as whole. I am afraid from that day when every body turns to be against us with no defender. The days the history of pogrom repeat it self. God forbidden.

Look at you tripping over your own words, "What was Hezballah's objective when they killed and kisnapped Israeli soldiers?" Thats the whole point sunshine. Its called a PRISONER EXCHANGE. That one that is currently underway! You can sit there and talk your BS about terror groups. What about the terror group holding thousands of prisoners since their 1982 ILLEGAL invasion? Please save your crap about, "cowrds who fire rockets from civilian areas", coz it looks like the IDF really gave a shit. If they thought they saw a Hezbollah fighter they ended up blowing the 10 buildings around him and guess what, all that was found were women and children. I ask the same question and still no answer. Were they also hiding in the UN base that was blown apart? "They could have carpet bombed beirut adn killed everyone, but instead they sent in ground troops". I seriously want to know if you are blind or not coz if what they did wasn't carpet bombing then im not sure what is! And buddy those ground troops were sent in coz they finally realised that they accomplished jack from the air except target practice! "Israel didn't win or lose anything." I just this line and yet I read articles about army generals quiting, being fired, blamed for this and that BUUTT that has nothing to do with the objectives they accomplished in the war! I guess someone like you will agree when I say, America hasn't won or lost in Iraq? I hope DR stands for doctor coz you should lay down and treat yourself!

I am surprised that with all the squabbling about who won and who lost, very few are able to see the wood for the trees. First in response to DR #20, you say Israel could have carpet-bombed Beirut but didn't. Big of them I must say. Why, was it out of the greatness of their heart that they refrained from doing so? Or because the US told them not to? Would they have cared either way? They didnt because, unfortunately, a big part of the Lebanese government was counting on the US to stop the war. But nevertheless, a great many locations which had nothing to do with HA were targetted. Israel knew if it struck downtown Beirut HA would strike Tel Aviv, and also it wanted to appear as if it were doing Lebanon a favor, ridding it of a terrorist group. And that facade would not hold if it appeared hostile to the government. Nevertheless, there is evidence in the way we were bombed on a deep underlying bitterness and hatred on the part of those Israleis in command

There was nothing done "by mistake" on the part of the IDF in the war. It was not only a question of poor planning, but also a disregard for human life, so please, refrain from portraying them as noble hearted warriors. There is nothing noble hearted about flying in war jets and dropping rockets on densely-populated residences. And enough with this rhetoric of "HA started it" and HA hid behind women and children because it only shows a complete distortion of facts. You were not in Lebanon and you do not know. You believe what you see on tv. Yes, HA launched rockets into Israel, but we will not go now into issues of proportionate vs disproportionate responses. This war has been preplanned for a long time now. I also feel sad that there were Israeli victims, and what makes me so angry is that still, it is the same argument over and over. How can you not see that what is happening is a case of ego-maniacal powers struggling to be heroes? The US wants to ensure herself a foothold in the ME, but it cant do so if HA are in power, so it starts first by describing them as a terror group, blacklisting them, their radio stations, etc. The next step is to give a green light to Israel: "wait for the first opportunity for HA to perform an offensive then attack". Well, it has succeeded in pitting 2 countries that could have been allies against each other. I am angry about many things that happened in the war, angry that the Lebanese army was not permitted to perform as it should for fear of being labelled as "accomplice to terror". What does one do when someone is pounding rockets into one's land? Stand back and watch? How can you not see what is happening in Iraq? What will happen in other countries? How can you not see how the US has military bases in almost every Arab country in the gulf? How can you not see that the US just keeps selling you or even giving you for free more and more weapons but is concerned about Iran's nuclear plans? When did the US ever fight its own war? Or fight a battle on its own land? No, it just lets its "allies" do its dirty work. What has been achieved? Only more and more enmity and hatred. Only yesterday Rice said that Iran's propositions are blackmail. And also it has not encouraged peace talks with syria. I ask you, does that sound like a country which wants peace? Only a few days ago Bush (who must be the stupidest president in history) sent 20,000 soldiers into Iraq. How long has he been in Iraq? What has he achieved? How many people have died? What were the roots of the civil war? What is the cause now of political fractures in Lebanon? Divide and conquer maybe? Now we are being criticized as having internal problems, some being pro-US others pro-HA. If you look at the startegic bombing during the war, the US policies after the war (backing the gov, rushing to give money before HA) you will be able to see the roots of those fissures and fractions that appear today. You cant ignore the fact that HA has a huge number of supporters, or that it has staunchly defended the borders for a long time. And you cant ignore the fact that the Lebanese army are not allowed by the powers that be to acquire good weapons. Well, if HA is wiped out and our army is weak then what do we do to protect our borders? And till when must we keep protecting them? And from whom? Suddenly it seems as though there are no longer any neighbours that can be trusted. I want neither US nor Irani intervention, and I am so sick with the anguish of seeing my country destroyed time and again. But if people continue to think in the same old mentality then nothing will change.

"Bla bla bla" Retarded kids know how to use computers these days. Im impressed! Why join Hezbollah? They are doing a remarkable on their own. "People like you who defend and make excuses for terror are a dying breed anyways." Why are they a terror group? Coz ohmert and bush said so? Coz only 3 or 4 countries in the world have listed them as terrorists? Coz they were created in response to a illegal invasion? Coz they are trying to get back thousands of prisoners held in israeli prisons since their illegal invasion? You tell me who is defending and making excuses for terror? Please DR we have means to make sense when we debate on this site! Now you know who the real terror group is and your right they "are a dying breed"! "kidnap 18 year old boys". You think girls will do better job? In my opinion they shouldn't be recruiting boys coz war is a mans job. I'll wear the belt but you just make sure you keep that straight jacket your wearing on for a while!

To DR in Florida - War did bring about good (after many years) as in WWII. But Hitler started the mass executions and Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. So a violent reaction (WAR) was the answer. Interesting how the Twin Tower destruction did not bring about a violent-enough reaction. It should have been short and strong. Or at least stronger than it was. Blast it all - I think we need more women in charge. P.S. : How do firefighters fight a wild fire? Fire against fire.....