Our leaders unfortunately are not the same leaders of the past (no balls). If Bibi had the same leadership his brother Yoni had (ZL), we would have finished the job with Hamas and the PA.

and that would have been a LOT worse. Complaints are flagrant electioneering (or demagoguery), by people who have no clue what the cost would have been -- or in vulgar disregard of the many Israeli sons we would have lost. I'm elated they are still with us and a measure of peace has been restored.

Israel accomplished nothing and Hamas was the clear winner. In time more and more people will realize that. Some things are worth fighting and dying for. The leadership clearly failed.

but Israel should have chopped the head off the snake.

The rockets have stopped. Victory.

They definitely do not want peace and threaten world peace

you would have had 75000 Israeli boys walk into the sinister traps prepared for them, the anti tank sting missiles, the hand to hand . yes... aren't we brave... Also never mind the outcry from a world supercharged with hatred for the Jewish State, And all of a sudden, the lay people deprived of the adrenalin of a crushing victory Finally, I doubt the right question was asked, and that ynet has reported with no slant

#3, paqid, you are 100% correct. The right decision was made. History tends to repeat itself. 1982 Israel invades Lebanon for the same reason, lost a 1000 young boys, maimed another 10,000, left, and then we all know what happened afterwards. Deterrence is what is needed and I think the enemy got the message. Also I'm very happy that there are a lot of young Israelis alive and intact today because of that decision.

Hamas won Israel lost.

Why is it all you left wing anti-semitic scumbags fear to sign your name? Or maybe it is shame. Whatever, you are a coward.

Your soul is corroded from bitterness, you seem a wreck with little light in their life.

We live in a very strange world - Hamas is declared the victor because it is willing to fight to the death of all its citizens, while Israel is the loser beacuse it do not which to see the additional lose of lives, both Isreali and Palestinian.

You seem to know nothing of tactical field matters and Cast Lead 1 - IDF lost 4 men in that Operation. Study how the IDF operated in Cast Lead. The enemy will be destroyed long before than can get close to IDF soldiers. Study what IDF combat Engineers did in Cast Lead. You have no idea what you are talking about .

We should continue pounding them with rockets 24 hours a day for a whole month (a small piece of what Sderot had received)

The Rocket War was a ridiculous episode. Bombarding eachother with rockets and missiles, then rolling up to the gates of Gaza with the full battle array, and just sitting & kicking your heels? This makes the 2nd time Israeli forces have pulled that stunt. Farce. Screwing around. Next time, you'll have no choice but to truly prove Israeli forces really can go full throttle on the Gaza fanatics.

This is going to get real ugly in 2013.

At the time I was actually hoping there would be no ground war because I didn't want to see any Israeli lives lost. I remember one night my father called from England and we discussed it and he was being a real arm chair general and he didn't understand how I could not want a ground operation. When I see how we spent a fortune achieved nothing except possibly making Hamas legitimate, limiting our own operational capabilities because of ceasefire terms rather than smashing them which was the original purpose Looking back its easy to say we made a mistake in not going in on the ground as well but the real problem in my mind was this decision not to go in was not taken from a military perspective it was because Bibi & Barak were worried if anything went wrong it would cost the election. It was an essential operation because of the huge increase in rocket attacks but it was being run with an election being just as if not more important than the outcome.

The stated aims of POD could be said to have been achieved although some will question whether those aims were sufficient enough. Importantly missle attacks have ceased (for the moment). Hamas will re-build their missle stocks and if they resume their rocket attacks there must again be a severe response against their sites and personnel.

Would Palestinians dare say anything else? Hamas has told them it won diplomatically,had gained concessions from Israel,had fired rockets into TA and Jerusalem,and had faced-off a ground invasion.

and the 2006 war with Hezbollah was definitely an Israeli defeat...