Is there a reason that Israel must always be reactive? Where's the harm if we go proactive every now and again. There's been enough sturm und drang out of Hezbollah that richly warrants and Israeli proactive response. Bomb the hell out of southern Lebanon for a while. Even as far as Beirut. Just so that the Lebanese understand that we're not happy with the current situation. The Lebanese government either can muzzle and shut down Hezbollah, or step up and admit that they can. Fortunately for Lebanon, Israel can. If you need help taking back your country, just ask us. In view of the fact that Lebanon has absolutely nothing to offer except hashish from the Beka'a Valley -- controlled by Hezbollah -- the rest of the world will pretty much ignore what transpires in Lebanon. The Lebanese just don't much matter in the grand scheme of things. If Lebanon needs help, they need to ask Israel. Nicely and politely, of course. Because no one else will help. And if they do not ask, well -- still doesn't mean that Lebanon is worthy of a richly deserved, however painful, lesson. And Israel's new northern border will be the Litani. Important to keep that in mind.

While I agree with you that israel should be proactive, it's reading posts like these that show how many don't seem to understand what has happened in Lebanon since 2006. Hezbollah has 100,000 missiles. That ten times the number in 2006. Many of them are now also much higher in payload. They also have battle hardened core personnel. They likely have formidable anti aircraft abilities. A war wIth this hezbollah is not going to be like 2006. They may well over run several israelI border villages, killing or kidnapping them. They could occupy a large town like kiryat shmona or maalot. Dislodging them could prove surprisingly difficult. They will rain missiles on israel enough to seriously harm the economy. These missiles could cause mass casualty events. They will put the entire country in bunkers. They could consolidate positions in the north. Hezbollah and iran could turn israel into another syria. So, I disagree with your hubris. But definitely, israel should approach this like one of the existential wars of days past, and move pre emptively to destroy the threat. One of the few ways to prevent an Israeli border town from being taken is to move first. israel will then have to move through the entire of south and eastern lebanon, and also go into Syria and topple assad, in order to prevent hezbollah from staging there . Hezbollah will have to be completely destroyed. The cost to israel will be enormous, bUT the result will completely alter the situation. Destroying the Iranian threst in Lebanon and Syria will allow Israel to then eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat. This is no joke. 2006 was the one to win. olmert had no vision and didn't realize what needed to be done then. Hopefully the current leadership is more aware.