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Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald
I think they crossed that line along time ago. This is no longer a defensive measure, this is a well calculated offensive movement. They are following America's lead and practicing "pre-emptive war". .
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If I'm not mistaken, in both kidnapping instances, the perpetrators crossed pre-1967 boundaries - crossed the Israeli frontier as defined by the United Nations - and killed or grabbed Israeli soldiers.
A clear provocation by Islamic extremists in both cases, one the elected government of Palestine and the other a de facto government operating within an accommodating country.
The Israeli response is pretty much the same as they've engaged many times before through many previous decades, through many previous American administrations, Democrat or Republican. Debate whether that kind of response is right or wrong but its not a recent tactic.
Personally, I think it would be more productive for the Israeli's to be targetting leadership figures - as an example, the cleric in Lebanon at the LA Times link above who warned the Lebanese government to support the actions of Hezbollah.
The NY Times with an interesting analysis:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/wo.../13assess.html
Cowperson