Terror Tactic
Hezbollah terrorists crossed into Israel from Lebanon and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.
BEIRUT, Lebanon – The Hezbollah militant group captured two Israeli soldiers during clashes along the Lebanese border on Wednesday, triggering an Israeli assault with warplanes, tanks and gunboats as Israeli troops crossed the frontier to hunt for the captives.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the guerrilla attack "an act of war" and warned that Hezbollah would pay a "heavy price" for its actions.
Israeli warplanes struck two bridges over the Litani River deep in southern Lebanon, killing two civilians on the main north-south highway between the port cities of Tyre and Sidon, Lebanese security officials said. The pan-Arab satellite TV al-Arabiya station said that at least seven Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting, and that several more were wounded.
The Israeli army confirmed casualties among the soldiers, but did not comment on the reports of possible deaths.
Israeli troops crossed into a southwestern sector of Lebanon, near where the soldiers were seized, trying to keep their captors from moving them deeper into Lebanon, Israeli security officials said. Hezbollah said it destroyed an Israeli tank as it tried to cross the frontier.
This appears to be the new tactic of choice for the terrorists. Kidnap soldiers then gets lots of media attention and mobilize the apologists in the West. I sincerely hope American Leaders in Iraq are warning the troops about this appalling new tactic.
UPDATE: Jerusalem Post has this from Israeli PM Olmert:
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared the attack as an "act of war" and not terror. During a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Wednesday afternoon, he called it an unprovoked assault by a sovereign nation and held Lebanon, where Hizbullah has a minister in the government, fully responsible.
"Israel's response will be restrained but very, very, very painful," Olmert added.
UPDATE: Read Big Pharaoh for his take on this situation.
Other Links to this Post
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Blogs of War — July 12, 2006 @ 8:54 am
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A Blog For All — July 12, 2006 @ 4:28 pm
By Herschel Smith, July 12, 2006 @ 12:46 pm
It is part of an overall tactical plan to destabilize the troops with targeted kidnappings, body mutilations, mobilization of the apologists in the West as you mentioned, reduce the will of the American people, and make the PC military brass bring more and more charges against our boys.
I posted on this here:
http://www.captainsjournal.com/2006/07/07/truth-or-consequences-in-iraq/
It is an devilish, ingeneous, sinister plan that relies more on perception, legalities, western apologists and lack of American will than it does on military machinations.
It isn’t just happening in Israel. The terrorists have gotten smart over the last several years. They have figured out that the American people are stupid by and large.