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The sole achievement has been erased By Israel Harel Tags: UNIFIL, Hezbollah, Lebanon  After Hezbollah smuggled into Lebanon some 40,000 rockets, a few of which are capable, according to the defense minister, of reaching Dimona, Ehud Barak remembered this week to threaten, in the French foreign minister's presence, that "Israel will not put up with the continuing erosion of Resolution 1701." It appears it is France's fault that Israel did not prevent Hezbollah, immediately on discovering the first signs of smuggling, from violating 1701. We may not have attained important achievements on the battlefield, Tzipi Livni said at the time, but in Resolution 1701 - which she boasts of initiating - Israel accomplished an important achievement in the diplomatic battle. And a beaten and bruised prime minister and defense minister, as well as a lost and embarrassed government, adopted the resolution and joined in its praise. Naturally, as many predicted, even before the smoke of battle cleared, the Iranian suppliers were busy replenishing Hezbollah's inventory. And the Israeli government, after declaring that Resolution 1701 would prevent this, had a hard time admitting it had been defeated on the diplomatic front as well. The "beefed-up UNIFIL," which failed to fulfill its primary mandate, also benefited from Israel's silence. Advertisement Thus was erased the sole achievement of the Second Lebanon War: the destruction of a large share of the medium-range missiles Iran had deployed against Israel. Not just erased: The missile range during the war was the center of Israel; now, after the important diplomatic achievement of 1701, the Iranian missiles cover, and in multiplied numbers, all of the strategic targets in Israel. Whether due to the assumption that the public has forgotten who brought this strategic fiasco upon us, or whether because the current defense minister was not a partner to the fiasco, the cabinet held a discussion yesterday on what it termed "Hezbollah's missile arsenal." But the complaints to the foreign ministers of France and Italy (whose troops head UNIFIL) also indicate an erroneous conception that Hezbollah is the main address for the missile dilemma, not Iran, which supplies them, and not UNIFIL, which does not prevent the smuggling. Hezbollah is a small terror organization. Although one of its main objectives is to liberate Jerusalem, the crux of its relevant objectives is internal to Lebanon. It doesn't need most of its missiles to achieve its goals. The thousands of missiles the organization gets from Iran are intended for Tehran's use. This is how Iran will be able to carry out a mass attack on Israel without the Israeli leadership preventing it, because the people launching the missiles, as they did two years ago, will be Lebanese. In a missile attack from Lebanon on Tel Aviv, Dimona, and other strategic targets in the country - by means of Hezbollah - Israel's hands would be tied tighter than they were in the Lebanon war. After all, the "beefed-up UNIFIL," whose forces were augmented to prevent Iran's preparations for a missile attack on Israel from Lebanon, has become the guardian of Hezbollah - the executor of the Iranian plan - against an attempt by Israel to foil it with a preemptive strike. The cabinet yesterday discussed "Hezbollah's missile arsenal." But what is such a discussion worth when there is no leadership in Israel today capable of making security decisions - even if the dangers and means of dealing with them are defined correctly? What is it worth when there is no leadership capable of insisting on decisions being implemented in full, even in the face of a public opinion with little patience and low endurance for suffering? The kind of public opinion that represses the central threats to the state's existence and is not prepared to pay the necessary price for Jewish sovereignty. After all, the main reason we do not escape the cycle of endless war is that every time we are on the edge of victory we stop the battle one step too soon - two years ago in Lebanon, and now with Hamas. This allows the enemy to recover and claim victory, continuing the struggle, justifiably from his point of view, until the Zionist Jewish entity comes to an end. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Photoshopped launch Did Iran doctor an image of its provocative missile test launch? 'Hitler was a good boss' Nazi bodyguard describes the fuhrer's last moments in a Berlin bunker.   1.   Israel had best not mess with Hizbollah 11:44  |  Natallie Durson 10/07/08   2.   For the 1st time I agree with Haaretz 12:10  |  maurice 10/07/08   3.   Maurice,Israel Harael is one of the few at "Haar" worth reading 14:02  |  Absolute Sweden 10/07/08   4.   Deleted by moderator 14:29  |  VIPER 10/07/08   5.   Admit UNIFIL is a Belligerant Party and Give 4hrs Notice to Leave 19:43  |  Straight Talk 10/07/08

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