Clear Goals

Am I the only one that finds it somewhat disturbing that the Israeli campaign in Lebanon is codenamed "Operation Just Reward"? Given that they've killed (Juan Cole's estimates) about 10 Hezbollah fighters out of 230 deaths, it seems that justice has got nothing to do with it. Now, I know that Hezbollah are rat-bastards who fire rockets out of civilian homes, and that might account for some of the civilian casualties, but why did they attack Laban Lait, Lebanon's largest Dairy farm? Did they spy Hezbollah fighters hiding among the nice cows? In addition to Laban Lait, plastic factories, paper mills and the like are being hit.

Sami Salmad, the owner of Transmed, a Lebanese company that distributes imported consumer goods, lost $10 million worth of merchandise when his warehouse went up in flames following Israel's fourth consecutive strike against a fuel depot at Rafik Hariri International Airport Saturday.

"Tell me when this craziness will stop and I'll tell you how long it will take for me to recover," said Salmad.

With civilian casulties mounting, it might seem curious that I'm talking about the businesses that are hit. But at the risk of sounding cynical and callous, the destruction of productive facilities will be setting Lebanon back as a nation in a devastating way that the death of innocent children can only symbolize. Think about it -- how many lives might $10 million worth of medical supplies save?

Major General Moshe Kaplinsky of the Israeli Army wants to get the job done:

"We need more time to complete our very clear goals.
When we fight terror it is a war that needs to be very accurate, very schematic and it takes time," he said. [snip]

An Israeli government source has said Israel may step up attacks in the coming days, mindful that its main ally, the US, may not resist international pressure for a cease-fire indefinitely.

I guess if the goal is to turn the clock back 20 years in Lebanon, the Israelis are doing a pretty good job. Fighting terror? Not so much.