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[igotthisguitar]

Israel Set War Plan More Than A Year Ago
Strategy was put in motion as Hezbollah began increasing its military strength

Matthew Kalman, Chronicle Foreign Service
San Francisco Chronicle
July 24, 2006

Originally published Friday, July 21, 2006

JERUSALEM � Israel's military response by air, land and sea to what it considered a provocation last week by Hezbollah militants is unfolding according to a plan finalized more than a year ago.

In the years since Israel ended its military occupation of southern Lebanon, it watched warily as Hezbollah built up its military presence in the region. When Hezbollah militants kidnapped two Israeli soldiers last week, the Israeli military was ready to react almost instantly.

"Of all of Israel's wars since 1948, this was the one for which Israel was most prepared," said Gerald Steinberg, professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University. "In a sense, the preparation began in May 2000, immediately after the Israeli withdrawal, when it became clear the international community was not going to prevent Hezbollah from stockpiling missiles and attacking Israel. By 2004, the military campaign scheduled to last about three weeks that we're seeing now had already been blocked out and, in the last year or two, it's been simulated and rehearsed across the board."

More than a year ago, a senior Israeli army officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an off-the-record basis, to U.S. and other diplomats, journalists and think tanks, setting out the plan for the current operation in revealing detail. Under the ground rules of the briefings, the officer could not be identified.

In his talks, the officer described a three-week campaign: The first week concentrated on destroying Hezbollah's heavier long-range missiles, bombing its command-and-control centers, and disrupting transportation and communication arteries. In the second week, the focus shifted to attacks on individual sites of rocket launchers or weapons stores. In the third week, ground forces in large numbers would be introduced, but only in order to knock out targets discovered during reconnaissance missions as the campaign unfolded. There was no plan, according to this scenario, to reoccupy southern Lebanon on a long-term basis.

Israeli officials say their pinpoint commando raids should not be confused with a ground invasion. Nor, they say, do they herald another occupation of southern Lebanon, which Israel maintained from 1982 to 2000 � in order, it said, to thwart Hezbollah attacks on Israel. Planners anticipated the likelihood of civilian deaths on both sides. Israel says Hezbollah intentionally bases some of its operations in residential areas. And Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has bragged publicly that the group's arsenal included rockets capable of bombing Haifa, as occurred last week.

Like all plans, the one now unfolding also has been shaped by changing circumstances, said Eran Lerman, a former colonel in Israeli military intelligence who is now director of the Jerusalem office of the American Jewish Committee.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/21/MIDEAST.TMP

[Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee]

what country in the world does not make plans for a war against their enemy. And at any rate Hizzbollah struck first. If there is a war they are the ones to blame.

[Summer Wine]

Sorry "I got"
Israel has faced off against Hizbollah since the 1980's. Its not a secret that they had plans since 2000 for a Hizbollah attack.

It is a suprise that with all the UN observers watching them, that the UNIFEL should be surprised when Israel attacks.

[sundubuman]

and Islamic imperialists have had their war plans for over 1300 years. read the Koran......

[mindmetoo]

*Shrug*

The USA has plans on the books to invade Canada. So what?

[bignate]

[cwemory]

[jinglejangle]

[igotthisguitar]

Israeli warmongers were waiting to pounch on the slightest provocation.

"They kidnapped our soldiers ... they kidnapped our soldiers"!!!

Don't ya just love it when a plan comes together?

Hyprocrites. Something like 15 "democratically elected" Palestinian legislators were KIDNAPPED by Israeli commandos only a week or two earlier. Why did the BIG media so quiickly forget about this?

What of that family of Palestinian picknickers? SEVEN of them blown up on a BEACH in the Gaza Strip only a few weeks prior.

At the time Israel attempted simply to shrug off responsibility. Even going so far as to blame HAMAS for being behind the rocket attack

The general public isn't that dense now are they?

[Ya-ta Boy]

Hmmmm...am I more mathematically challenged than usual or do I see a slight discrepancy in the usual claim of who was threatening who?

War Plan Red was a military document outlining a theoretical war between the United States and the British Empire (the "Red" forces). It was developed by the United States Army during the mid 1920s

Defence Scheme No. 1 was a plan created by Canadian Director of Military Operations and Intelligence James "Buster" Brown, for a Canadian counter-invasion of the United States. Defence Scheme No. 1 was created in 1921