Israel was correct in going to war to defeat Hezbollah, just as the U.S. was correct in going to war to defeat Sadam Hussein.  However, both have ended up making the same mistake.  They chose not to fight a real war.  
    Israel should have put 50,000 troops into Southern Lebanon in one large-scale attack, with all the necessary air-support they needed.  Such an attack would have crushed Hezbollah.  However, like the U.S. in Iraq they chose to try and save civilian lives at the expense of their own soldiers.  A government's first obligation is to its own people, and Israel chose not to honor that obligation, just as the U.S. has done in Iraq.  
    Now Nasrallah is claiming victory, declaring his terrorists defeated the vaunted Israeli IDF.  All reasonable people know this is not true, and others will not consider that Israel jeopardized an outright success because of humanitarian concerns.  They will only point to the 800 dead Lebanese civilians killed because of the way Hezbollah chooses to hide among them and label Israel the bad guy.  In the end, as has been the story for 40 years, the media will slant everything to support this charge and we will go on as usual.
    Because the U.S. and now Israel, have lost the will to fight an all-out war, it is unlikely Western Civilization will survive this Islamic assault.  It is true that in human relations, just as in nature, only the strong survive.  Strong includes having the will to do unpleasant but necessary things to ensure survival.
    The Western Culture of plenty, safety, protection against all bad outcomes, weakening of masculinity, and general self-loathing has positioned it for defeat.  Unless we can toughen up and take care of ourselves, we are not worth saving.

David McKee
MGySgt, USMC (Retired)
Sacramento, CA