Word: onslaughts
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...Lebanon, it falls substantially short of the initial Israeli goal of crushing Hizballah as a military entity and prompting the rest of Lebanese society to turn against the organization because of the destruction by Israel that its actions provoked. Hizballah defined success as its forces simply surviving the Israeli onslaught intact, and exacting a substantial price from the Israelis for their offensive. The U.S. endorsed Israel's objectives - viewing Hizballah as nothing more than a proxy for Iran and Syria - and sought diplomatic cover for Israel by rallying Arab support against Hizballah and initially delaying calls for a cease-fire...
Nasrallah is having a good war. By surviving Israel's aerial onslaught and fighting its army to a standstill, Nasrallah, 46, has staked a claim to being the most popular leader in the Arab world. Nasrallah's fighters have kept up their daily rocket barrages against Israeli cities and towns, keeping his promise to inflict suffering on Israel in return for its bombardment of Lebanon. When Nasrallah went before the cameras on Hizballah-run al-Manar last week, he presented himself as the custodian of Muslim honor. Even his Arab critics are biting their tongues, mindful of the support Nasrallah...
...resolution does not specifically stipulate Hizballah disarmament, it does call for an arms embargo that would help facilitate that long-standing U.N. demand. Hizballah loses control of southern Lebanon and, eventually, its profile as a resistance army. But Hizballah's military arm remains alive and kicking after an onslaught aimed at reaffirming Israel's deterrent power by eliminating the Shi'ite militia...
...Hizballah, for its part, has achieved the "victory" of surviving the Israeli onslaught, and has burnished its standing in the Arab world by its ability to land painful blows on Israel. That will spur it to seek the last word and deny Israel's efforts to shape perceptions of the outcome. Nasrallah on Saturday accepted the cease-fire plan despite reservations, but made clear that his men will keep fighting Israeli forces that remain on Lebanese soil even if they ceases rocket fire into Israel. The Israelis want the closing image of the war to show their forces taking control...
...Once the cease-fire starts, both sides will surely claim victory. Nasrallah will declare himself a new champion of the Arab world for having survived the Israeli onslaught and terrorized 1.5 million Israelis with his blindly flung rockets. (In Palestine's West Bank, recordings of his speeches and ballads of Hizballah warriors are hot sellers.) The Israelis can argue they pushed back Hizballah from the border, killed hundreds of their fighters and replaced enemy militiamen along the border with regular Lebanese army troops and tough international forces. Israel may even be able to exchange its own Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners...