Uri Avnery - Junkies of War

please book mark this page. Uri is a sane voice from israel. if you have not read him before here is a brief into and his latest column

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Uri Avnery
JOURNALIST, WRITER, PEACE ACTIVIST.

1950-1990 Former Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, "Ha'olam Haze" newsmagazine.

1965-1969 - 1969-1973 - 1979-1981 - 3 Terms as member of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament).

1975 Founding member, Israeli council for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

1993 Founding member, "Gush Shalom" (Peace Bloc), Independent Peace Mevement.

Columnist, Ma'ariv Daily.

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excerpts:

Nobody has any doubt that the Israeli army is a good, professional army, capable of defeating regular armies. But this war proves that it is not capable of achieving a military decision against an able guerilla organization with determined fighters. If Hizbullah is alive and kicking after 25 days, the deterrence power of the Israeli army has been weakened - whatever happens from now on.

From this point of view, the war has harmed the security of Israel. It has proved that the Israeli rear is exposed, that the Hizbullah fighters are not inferior to the Israeli soldiers, that there is no de-luxe war, that the Air Force cannot win without land forces. Not even in ideal circumstances, when the other side has no anti-air defense to speak of.

Olmert wants to "gain" as many days as possible for continued fighting. What sort of gain is this? We are conquering South Lebanon as flies conquer fly-paper. Generals present maps with impressive arrows to show how Hizbullah is being pushed north. That might be convincing - if we were talking about a front-line in a war with a regular army, as taught in Staff College. But this is a different war altogether. In the conquered area, Hizbullah people remain, and our soldiers are exposed to attacks of the kind in which Hizbullah has excelled from its first day.

So we shall get to the Litani River. Beyond it, there is another river, and another one. Lebanon has an abundance of rivers we can get to.

read the rest Uri Avnery - Junkies of War - 08/05/2006