| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Pentagon fears defeat by Hezbollah |
| 2009-04-07 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] The Pentagon is spending millions to learn from Israeli's defeat in the 33-day war on Lebanon, amid fears the US army would be outpowered by Hezbollah in case of a conflict. The US Department of Defense has conducted interviews with those Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officers, who fought against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, to learn from the failures of their campaign, The Washington Post reported Monday. The US military experts who studied the Israeli Army's annihilation were surprised by the defeat Hezbollah inflicted upon the armored columns, using anti-tank guided missiles. Hezbollah forces are "extremely well trained, especially in the uses of anti-tank weapons and rockets," the newspaper cited a Pentagon report conducted on the group's military power. According to another study conducted by the Army's Combat Studies Institute, "From 2000 to 2006 Hezbollah embraced a new doctrine, transforming itself from a predominantly guerrilla force into a quasi-conventional fighting force." The 33-day war highlighted a rift among US military leaders, with some believing that the military should be restructured so that it would be better prepared for asymmetrical wars. Others, meanwhile, were concerned that such changes would make the military vulnerable to conventional battles. Many top Army officers however believed the war's outcome illustrated the price of focusing too much on counterinsurgency wars. "The real takeaway is that you have to find the time to train for major combat operations, even if you are fighting counterinsurgency wars," said one senior military analyst who studied the Lebanon war for the Center for Army Lessons Learned at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. In an attempt not to be caught off-guard by Hezbollah forces in the event of a war, the US Army and Marine Corps had arranged several multi-million-dollar drills to simulate battles against the group. Citing Frank Hoffman, a research fellow at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, the newspaper reported that the organization has conducted "five major [war] games in the last two years, and all of them have focused on Hezbollah." Andrew Exum, a former Army officer who has studied the battle from southern Lebanon, was quoted as saying that "Even if the Israelis had done better operationally, I don't think they would have been victorious in the long run." Tel Aviv, which launched the offensive to destroy Hezbollah's military power, was forced to eventually leave the region without achieving any of its objectives. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Sy Hersh shipping Press TV Iran another scoop? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-07 11:25 |
| #6 These fools should stop arguing that because they aren't all dead yet In the a-rab thought process, not dying is victory. because Allan has given them a 'pass', this time. Of course, death is 'victory' too. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2009-04-07 09:12 |
| #5 This article is total crap. Israel kicked Hizbollah butt all over Lebanon. All the evidence is in that Hizbollah leaders hide in the shadows while Israel hunts them. These fools should stop arguing that because they aren't all dead yet somehow Israel failed. With that approach, sooner or later an Israeli leader will go all Old Testament on them just to make the point clear. What is happening is that the Israeli and American military are doing the prudent research on these villains now to answer the call when it comes. |
| Posted by: rammer 2009-04-07 08:51 |
| #4 Pentagon fears defeat by There, fully repaired. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-04-07 07:39 |
| #3 Keep in mind that mullah tools actually believe this tripe and they plan accordingly. They will be slaughtered like sheep in the next round. The only Hezbollah "victory" was in the results of what passed for Olmert's thought processes. He had yet to learn that "world opinion" is a whorehouse bought and paid for with Arab petro-dollars. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2009-04-07 07:36 |
| #2 Well the Israelis were owned. Rockets still rained in Haifa at "end" of War. And the most criminaly incompetent Prime Minister and their Military leaders made a war from 9-5 and retire then get back to be again hit by Hizballah, plus a suicidal dash to Litani in last 2 days that made most of armored corps deaths for no result whatsoever. The only explaination that Olmert wasn't out is the Media and US and EU money and their political support. |
| Posted by: Large Snerong7311 2009-04-07 05:40 |
| #1 A pretty optimistic view of Hezbollah's capabilities by the Iran based Press TV. |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-04-07 02:04 |