The cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah is now entering its second day and already Hezbollah and the Islamic world are claiming victory. Syria in particular, one of Hezbollah’s chief backers claims the US vision for the Middle East is an illusion and Hezbollah is the true victor after over a month of fighting and in a larger sense they are correct.

Yes Hezbollah suffered major casualties and the loss of a great deal of equipment but on the whole Hezbollah remains intact. Its leadership escaped the fighting unscathed and its stature within the Islamic world has been magnified greatly. Israel for its part has simply bought itself time, time which the Islamic radicals will use to re-build and re-arm thanks to their deep pocketed backers in Iran and Syria.

The only true loser in this battle has been Lebanon, its infrastructure and society is in shambles leaving the already weak nation rife for a renewed push by Syria to impose its will on the tiny Middle Eastern nation.

To be true, Israel was entirely justified in acting against these extremist following almost non-stop provocations from across its northern border. Nonetheless, the manner in which Israel used to respond, and then failing to follow through when the political pressure became too great only ensures that Hezbollah will thrive and flourish. If the IDF was determined to use a heavy handed approach to deliver an all crushing blow to Hezbollah then the military should have followed through to fruition. The IDF, however, would have better used in more clandestine operations designed to cripple Hezbollah, while cutting off the flow of weapons from Iran and Syria. By relying on a more conventional military campaign, the Israeli government has accomplished none of those objectives.

If anything Hezbollah’s control over the south of Lebanon (and beyond) may be increased as ordinary Lebanese who previously rejected the militant Islamist organization may now turn to it, as the Lebanese government has only demonstrated its continued weakness.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4794363.stm