20060814 KDDC Ceasefire Fallout begins

Ceasefire Fallout begins

August 14th, 2006

Now that United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 has been passed and the Israeli are going to depend on the United Nations to defend innocent civilians from being rocketed by Hezbollah, the ceasefire fallout in Israel begins.

First we have been assured that this ceasefire and disarming of Hezbollah will succeed this time because Kofi Annan will require all reports to be provided in triplicate.

I’m certainly reassured and buoyed for the future with that information at hand.

Not widely reported in the main stream media, much skepticism lies just beneath the surface as to whether this is a ceasefire or an opportunity for Hezbollah to re-arm pending round two.

The DEBKAfile reports that already, “Hizballah is filtering reinforcements into South Lebanon among returning refugees. They are taking up positions in the still undamaged bunkers and fortified civilian dwellings.”

(Yes, in Israel “Hezbollah” is spelled “Hizballah.”)

And a debate rages as to just how well the IDF performed. Rumblings about strategy, military preparedness, adequate, timely and adequate intelligence, and performance abound.

Meanwhile the Israelis honor their dead. One account I found in Haaretz was particularly poignant. An account about the first female soldier, Sergeant Major Keren Tendler, lost on active duty since the Yom Kippur War in 1973: “In life and death, she pushed all boundaries.”

In the coming weeks, there will be a great sorting out of what has happened and the implications of the future.

One thing to be sure, much of the media and liberal bias against Israel was once-again brought to the surface.

Read “Don't boycott the BBC,” by Stephen Pollard in the Jerusalem Post:

Switch on the BBC News and, other than the fact that it is in English, you might think that you had tuned in by mistake to al-Manar, Hizbullah's own TV station. The BBC almost always ignores any case Israel might have for taking action against terrorism and concentrates on what it calls, relentlessly, Israel's "disproportionate response" in Lebanon. Israeli spokesmen and women are interviewed, but are quizzed as if they are propagandists for war crimes.

So it's understandable that there have been calls for Israeli officials and politicians to boycott the BBC. Understandable, but wrong.

Read the rest here.

Many were surprised by the lack of support for Israel from liberal Democrats.

In Lebanon, “civilians” – used as human shields by Hezbollah were killed. In Israel, the Katyushas killed “Israelis,” – not “civilians,” mind you, but “Israelis.”

The doctored photograph phenomena will be debated for quite sometime. See the New York Times piece: “Ease of alteration creates woes for picture editors.”

Carolyn Glick says that “The Olmert government must go:”

From all sides of the political spectrum calls are being raised for the establishment of an official commission of inquiry to investigate the Olmert government's incompetent management of the war in Lebanon. These calls are misguided.

We do not need a commission to know what happened or what has to happen. The Olmert government has failed on every level. The Olmert government must go.

The Jerusalem Post carries a story about the political and the military fallout of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin.

Aug. 14, 2006 2:56 | Updated Aug. 14, 2006 15:30

The countdown for Olmert has begun By ANSHEL PFEFFER

Whatever way you analyze UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the cease-fire that might have broken out at 8 a.m. Monday morning, and even if you accept the government's claims that it's good for Israel, there is no way that it can be good for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

This was the war that was going to establish him as a bona fide leader. During the first few weeks, his popularity ratings soared sky-high as the public expressed its trust in the government's decision to go after Hizbullah. There was a great deal of disappointment and skepticism regarding the IDF's conduct following the twin kidnap debacles at Kerem Shalom on June 25 and two weeks later at Biranit, but for once the politicians seemed to be calling the right shots.

The rest of the story can be found here.

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