Guerillas tough to beat, say soldiers
 

[quote:b0612]ON THE ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER: Israeli soldiers returning from the front in Lebanon say Hezbollah guerillas are hiding amid civilians and in underground bunkers two or three storeys deep - evidence, they say, that Hezbollah has been planning this battle for years.

"It's hard to beat them," one soldier said. "They're not afraid of anything."

The soldiers, most of whom declined to give their names under orders from superiors, described exchanges of gunfire in between houses on village streets, with Hezbollah rebels sometimes popping out of bushes to fire Kalashnikov rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles.

The troops' comments underscore the enormous challenge faced by Israel as it seeks to neutralise Hezbollah.

Despite Israel's overwhelming firepower, some military analysts say the war is not going particularly well for Israel, which has been unable to significantly push back the guerillas or stop hundreds of their rockets from slamming into northern Israel.

For the past few days, Israel has been fighting for control of the tiny southern Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras, on a hilltop less than 500m across the border.

The army said it had taken the village, but officers at the scene confirmed there was still fighting to do. "They're not fighting like we thought they would," one soldier said. "They're fighting harder. They're good on their own ground."

One soldier said the guerillas wore olive-green army uniforms "to confuse us" because Israelis wore the same.

Others said Hezbollah hid underground in reinforced bunkers until they thought it safe to come out and attack. The Israelis prefer to stay away from those bunkers, the soldiers said, instead calling in co-ordinates so forces massed behind the border can hit them with guided missiles.

"It will take the (northern) summer to beat them," said Michael Sidorenko, 21, resting in the shade of a road sign with other combat troops. On the hills behind him, loud gunfire and the constant thud of explosions could be heard. "They're not normal soldiers," he said. "They're guerillas. They're very smart."

He added he saw Hezbollah fighters firing from behind Lebanese civilians.

"That's why our soldiers are getting killed," he said.

Of the 19 soldiers killed since fighting began, five have died trying to gain control of Maroun al-Ras. To avoid more deaths, Israel has decided to limit its ground incursions to pinpoint operations near the border.

Not every soldier described Hezbollah as fierce. One said that when Israeli troops showed up in vehicles, the guerillas ran "like chickens".

Others wondered why Hezbollah had not yet attacked the almost 24 army vehicles and hundreds of troops camped out in easy striking range below the hill on which the village sits.

Most of the fighting in Maroun al-Ras has been conducted by a core group of a few hundred Israeli soldiers, including paratroopers.

The soldiers said Hezbollah had refrained from attacking them as they approached Maroun al-Ras in tanks and armoured personnel carriers, preferring instead to let Israelis reach the village and attack them there.

The fighting, they said, showed the guerillas had used the six years since Israel withdrew from Lebanon to build bunkers, stockpile weapons and study tactics.

"They have good knowledge about where we are, what we're doing, what kinds of weapons we have," soldier Sidorenko said.

"But it's better to fight them now than later, when they'd be even stronger."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 77,00.html
[/quote:b0612]

I love how the news networks focus on the children being killed. If the pussys didnt hide behind women and children they would be fine. It takes a real man to hide behind a kid, what f-in losers

The vast majority of the Lebanese civilians killed have been as a result of bombs and missiles fired/dropped by cowards flying at 10,000ft in F-16s.

[quote="Mr.Buttocks":4d8b4]The vast majority of the Lebanese civilians killed have been as a result of bombs and missiles fired/dropped by cowards flying at 10,000ft in F-16s.[/quote:4d8b4]
Human Sandbags are like human shields, but for buildings

[quote="Mr.Buttocks":f440a]The vast majority of the Lebanese civilians killed have been as a result of bombs and missiles fired/dropped by cowards flying at 10,000ft in F-16s.[/quote:f440a]


can you tell me why those areas are being targeted? Could it be because the terrorists are a bunch of pussies and are hiding in the areas that house civilians????????????

[quote="Sgt>Stackem":4ffd4][quote="Mr.Buttocks":4ffd4]The vast majority of the Lebanese civilians killed have been as a result of bombs and missiles fired/dropped by cowards flying at 10,000ft in F-16s.[/quote:4ffd4]


can you tell me why those areas are being targeted? Could it be because the terrorists are a bunch of pussies and are hiding in the areas that house civilians????????????[/quote:4ffd4]


These people are fighting in and around their home towns and villages. Israel has been destroying roads and bridges, making it hard for civilians to flee, and when they do flee they've had bombs dropped on them. They have no choice but to fight in populated areas. Or do you think that Hezbollah fighters should stand out in the open desert to make the job easier for the Israelis?

[quote="Mr.Buttocks":0c701]


These people are fighting in and around their home towns and villages. Israel has been destroying roads and bridges, making it hard for civilians to flee, and when they do flee they've had bombs dropped on them. They have no choice but to fight in populated areas. Or do you think that Hezbollah fighters should stand out in the open desert to make the job easier for the Israelis?[/quote:0c701]


yes they should stand in the open!!!


the roads are also supply routes, it sucks for them (the civilians) but they should have kicked the Hezbollah fighters out long ago. If you sleep with the ememy you die with them

[img]http://www.jonco48.com/blog/With_20Love_20from_20Israel.jpg[/img]

good to see the schools teach spelling over there

[quote="Sgt>Stackem":708f6]good to see the schools teach spelling over there[/quote:708f6]Well fuck, Skippy; considering they're ISRAELIS that look about 9-10 years old, I'd cut them some slack. Or should the English language be branded into the minds of children across the globe as quickly as possible? eek:


But honestly, what did they expect? The Vietnames Geurillas did it, the Insurgents across Afghanistan and parts of Iraq do it... There's no justification for holding a child in front of you to soften a spray of bullets, but really, this shouldn't be any shocking news.

Even the Israelis do it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle ... 212870.stm

The idea that one side is worse then the other is laughable. Both sides and not just Hezbollah but other Islamic terrorist groups are evil, full of hardliners and religious zealots, these wastes of human life, who makes it their lives work to perpetuate the same religious animosity for the greater evil and which ultimately end up hurting everyone and helping no one deserve death.

The sooner people stop accepting these people and start trying to accept people despite their petty and insignificant religious differences the sooner you will see peace in the Middle East.

gg israel.

Israeli bomb kills UN observers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle ... 215366.stm

This is getting fucking ridiculous...IMO Israel should start pouring a bit more of its cash into intelligence and special forces - because you can only counter insurgency with an equal and opposite force. How the fuck can you bomb an entire family to get at one of the family members? It's destructive, ineffective and senseless.

The bombing and sending massive armies in thing doesn't really work anymore...

RIP those UN people, but I wonder what Kofi Annan was doing to implement [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Security_Council_Resolution_1559:c1b0c]UN Res 1559 wiki link[/url:c1b0c]
to prevent this entire event from happening in the first place...was 2 years not enough time?

you can see how it's difficult to deal with governments who freely admit they
cannot control various military factions they sit next to but, erm.. it's not them. rolleyes: