Welcome to the world of 4GW and PR war. Some recent commentary over at Global Guerillas. William Lind: Collapse of the Flanks? (Will the campaign in Afghanistan, in hindsight, turn out to have been a mistake?)
How much success are Israeli ground forces having in Lebanon? How many casualties have they suffered?
From "Israel perpares wider ground offensive":
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided Friday to launch an expanded ground offensive in southern Lebanon after expressing dissatisfaction
over an emerging cease-fire deal at the United Nations, government officials said. Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz made the decision after meeting for several hours.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes pounded south Beirut and border crossings to Syria, killing at least 14 people across Lebanon as ground fighting picked up intensity in the south. It was not immediately clear whether Israel was trying to pressure the U.N. Security Council, which was close to a vote on a cease-fire resolution, or whether Israel is really determined to send troops deeper into Lebanon.
Israel is upset about apparent last-minute changes in the text, which would seem to weaken the mandate of a multinational force, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they is not authorized to discuss the contents of the Olmert-Peretz meeting.
...
In another statement, Hezbollah said its fighters killed or wounded about 15 Israeli soldiers trying to advance toward the border village of Aita al-Shaab. "The remaining soldiers retreated under the cover of artillery shelling," the statement said. Aita al-Shaab is one of several Lebanese border towns where gunbattles have been raging for weeks between Israeli troops and Hezbollah guerrillas.
The group later said it killed four Israeli soldiers in Qantara, about 5 miles from the Israeli border. Hezbollah said its guerrillas inflicted casualties on Israeli forces in the village of Rachaf as well, some 9 miles from the border.
"The Islamic Resistance (Hezbollah) has since early morning been engaged in fierce clashes (with Israeli troops) on the southwestern outskirts of Rachaf. By 9:40 a.m., the (Israeli) enemy was trying to evacuate its casualties from the battlefield," Hezbollah said in a statement broadcast on its Al-Manar television.
Fighting also continued in Beit Yahoun, with Hezbollah saying it destroyed an Israeli tank and bulldozer, killing or wounding their crews. The town is about 7 miles from the Israeli border.The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Hezbollah's statements.
Are numbers being inflated by the Hezbollah, just as they were inflated by the Israeli military? Regardless, one suspects that taking out Hezbollah/Hizballah is more difficult than Americans understand.
Some have argued that if Lebanon cannot control Hezbollah/Hizballah within its borders, then this amounts to a de facto loss of sovereignty. Loss of sovereignty for the central government, perhaps. But even if the state of Lebanon has lost sovereignty, it does not automatically devolve to Israel, nor does it legitimate Israel's military actions, in and of itself. Why? Because sovereignty would be automatically assumed by lesser communities if such exist.
Even if the Shia region of Lebanon were independent and autonomous, and all the Shia support Hezbollah (as it is arguably the case), total war against that region alone would not be permissible. Airstrikes and the use of artillery will be ineffective against a 4GW enemy, if they know what they are doing, because these are effectively only against a concentrated enemy whose position is known. As a counter, all one would need to do is disperse one's forces into independent groups, and have them keep as low a profile as possible.
If Hezbollah cannot be controlled or eliminated by the central government, then it is an open question whether the central government of Lebanon has sovereignty--although it claims to have such. Still, such a claim has some moral import for other nations, and needs to be taken into consideration, and one is not free to act as if the government were completely absent.
Edit: Eunomia refers us to Peter Hitchens on bombing
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