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Middle East
Hezbollah Shells Israeli Positions
2003-10-27
Hezbollah guerrillas shelled Israeli positions in a disputed southern Lebanese border area on Monday for the first time in two months, security officials said. The Lebanese officials said Hezbollah forces fired a volley of rockets and mortar shells at the Israeli military outposts of Roueissat el-Alam, al-Samaka and Ramtha inside the Shebaa Farms area. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah or Israel on casualties or damage.
The IDF will comment later today or tomorrow, as soon as the planes are loaded.
Posted by:Steve

#6   Today two guys on the ground w/GPS and a LRF... programing the B-2 overhead is all that it takes to get the job done.
Yes, but an Iowa Class could do it one shell every fifteen seconds for DAYS. Not only that, each hit could be different - not just HE, but white phosphorous, armor piercing, mine dispensing, even chemicals and bioweapons, if we stooped to such lows. There was a Vietnam war legend that a Marine battalion commander called for indirect fire support from the Wisconsin during the war. He passed four-digit UTM coordinates to the battlewagon, only to have the gunner asked, "and on which corner of that box do you want it, sir?" A four-digit (actually, about eleven digits, depending on the map used) UTM coordinate is for a 1-meter square. The revised battleships recommissioned during Vietnam were that accurate.

My dad was in the 4th Armored Division during WWII. They went ashore at Normandy on the 11th of June, and fought until the war ended. He told me once, that when they were in the hedgerows beyond the beaches, they used battleships for tank suppression fire. Not even the vaunted Panzer Mark IV could withstand three volkswagen-sized shells packed with HE.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2003-10-27 3:17:40 PM  

#5  Update: Israeli troops responded to the attack, which began at 3:20 p.m., with air strikes and 155 mm artillery fire, targeting suspected guerrilla hideouts on the outskirts of villages near the Israeli-occupied Chebaa Farms, the security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Two Israeli warplanes fired eight missiles on valleys and mountainous areas on the outskirts of the villages of Kfar Chouba, Hilta and Rashaya al-Foukhar, they said. Officials in southern Lebanon said Israeli artillery fire also targeted mountainous areas on the outskirts of the villages of Rashaya al-Foukhar and Kfar Hamam.
There was no immediate word on casualties. Israeli military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli fighter jets attacked Hezbollah targets in response to the attacks on the Chebaa Farms army outposts. "The jets hit several Hezbollah points," the officials said.
Posted by: Steve   2003-10-27 12:08:41 PM  

#4  "Too bad the Iowa-class battleships still weren't in service."

Back in the day, being on the receiving end of an Iowa was one of the most demoralizing attacks possible. Today, being on the receiving end of 2000lb JDAMs that *never* miss must be even more so. Today two guys on the ground w/GPS and a LRF... programing the B-2 overhead is all that it takes to get the job done.
Posted by: Dave   2003-10-27 11:28:48 AM  

#3  Debka is saying on their headline posting that the IAF already bombed the sites. Hopefully the hit more than rocks and goats.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats   2003-10-27 11:15:53 AM  

#2  "Hey! Lookit me! Lookit me!...oops..."
Posted by: mojo   2003-10-27 10:57:55 AM  

#1  Too bad the Iowa-class battleships still weren't in service. I'd support stationing one off the Lebanese coast for a week or so, firing 16" shells into Hezbollah camps.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2003-10-27 10:54:38 AM  

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