Time to pay the piper.

I have read a few commentators writing that the Olmert government has made mistakes in dealing with Hizbullah and Hamas.

Caroline Glick.
From all sides of the political spectrum calls are being raised for the establishment of an official commission of inquiry to investigate the Olmert government's incompetent management of the war in Lebanon. These calls are misguided.

We do not need a commission to know what happened or what has to happen. The Olmert government has failed on every level. The Olmert government must go.
I didn’t make much of it at the time, apart from wondering why Israel was caving to international pressure so easily. Simply offer the same reasoning that many offer in their lack of criticism of terrorist’s actions, they are not going to listen anyway, they are terrorists; to the international community. They are going to whinge and whine no matter what Israel does, so why bother appeasing them anyway?

Whether the Olmert government caved it, appeased, did the right thing, call it what you will, it would appear that Israelis are going to have to pay a much higher price than expected.

First, Gaza.
Kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who is being held in the Gaza Strip, will be released only if Israel agrees to free thousands of Palestinian prisoners, a senior Hamas official announced on Tuesday.

The announcement came as Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held a closed meeting in Gaza City with PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and urged him to release Shalit immediately.

Abbas, who arrived in the Gaza Strip on Monday, called on Hamas...
I won't bother posting what he called on Hamas to do, no point in us listening, because they [Hamas] sure ain't.

In the beginning the demand was 1 for a few thousand, and after all the missiles and blood shed on both sides, the demand is still the same.

Next Hizbullah.
Hizbullah will not hand over its weapons to the Lebanese government but rather refrain from exhibiting them publicly, according to a new compromise that is reportedly brewing between Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Seniora and Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The UN cease-fire resolution specifically demands the demilitarization of the area south of the Litani river. The resolution was approved by the Lebanese cabinet.

In a televised address on Monday night, Nasrallah declared that now was not the time to debate the disarmament of his guerrilla fighters, saying the issue should be done in secret sessions of the government to avoid serving Israeli interests.
"This is immoral, incorrect and inappropriate," he said. "It is wrong timing on the psychological and moral level particularly before the cease-fire," he said in reference to calls from critics for the guerrillas to disarm.

According to Lebanon's defense minister, Elias Murr, "There will be no other weapons or military presence other than the army" after Lebanese troops move south of the Litani. However, he then contradicted himself by saying the army would not ask Hizbullah to hand over its weapons.
So we have moved from disarming Hizbullah to an agreement of, not showing the arms publicly. About 2 weeks ago, IDF commandos raided a hospital in Baalbek, and found the hospital was actually a Hizbullah base.

When they hear of Nasrallah’s proposal, apart from him making judgements on morality, we would have to forgive them for inquiring what exactly has changed.

My advice to the Israelis, I would put any real estate and other investment plans for the North of Israel on hold. As the Europeans weasel their way into more cowardice, and the rest of the world forgets, make the existing bomb shelters more accommodating and start building new ones.

You'll need them.

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