A Rising Army - Hizbullah's surprising military might

Sterling Taylor

SOC 202 - T-TH 9:30-10:45AM

A Rising Army - Hizbullah's surprising military might

After weeks of fighting between Israel and Hizbullah, people all over the world are beginning to see the impact of Hizbullah?s tactics and equipment, both underestimated by many. The cause of this new conflict is the abduction of two Israeli soldiers and repeated rocket attacks on Israeli soil. After a week-long air-raid, Israel saw that Hizbullah rockets and missiles were not being suppressed. This lead Israel to send ground forces into Lebanon to secure a ?buffer zone? between the Israeli border and the area of operation for Hizbullah forces. Now, in a temporary cease-fire, Israeli troops have found out that their enemy is much tougher than originally expected. Commenting on an encounter with a Hizbullah soldier, Lt. Eli Kahn, an infantry commander for Israel?s paratrooper corps remarked ?He had sophisticated equipment like mine and looked more like a commando.? Hizbullah soldiers fight like Islamic Jihadists, fighting to the death and never retreating. This, combined with advanced gear such as night vision goggles, body armor, vhf radios, and AT-3 antitank missiles, makes for an extremely deadly enemy. Israeli soldiers report, aside from the tactics and equipment, Hizbullah?s biggest challenges to Israeli forces is their ability to blend in with the civilian population at a moment?s notice. To me, this all seems like a scaled down version of the situation in Iraq. Being a soldier in the U.S. Army, myself, I?ve noticed several similarities to Hizbullah?s guerilla tactics and that of Al Queada. They?re good at disappearing and being noticed only when they want to be. Their ambushes with IED?s and antitank missiles are effective at disrupting Israeli patrols. Most importantly, they?ve developed a good reputation with the citizens of Lebanon, building mosques, schools, and houses for the locals. This attitude turns the loyalty of the Lebanese in Hizbullah?s favor, making Israeli incursions more difficult. It also brings up the question, how do you defeat an enemy you can?t detect? Israel is in a tough position now. It needs to defend itself, but with broad air strikes, killing civilians and soldiers alike, Israel will have a difficult time gaining the trust of the newly occupied Lebanese populace. Perhaps an international occupation force is required to truly bring stability to the region.