The Bush administration forced Israel to stand down during the war with Hezbollah in 2006.
America was not Israel's problem in their war with Hezbollah in 2006. America bought Israel nearly four weeks of time to win that war during which we sucked it up and endured Shia anger in Iraq (who we relied on to help American troops fight the terrorists and insurgencies) stoked by pro-Iranian elements trying to provoke sectarian massacres!
Certainly, I am relieved that a point of tension that could be exploited by Iran inside Iraq amongst Shias sympathetic to the plight of Lebanon's Shias has been ended.
But we bought Israel almost four weeks of time and they blew it trying to defeat several thousand terrorists and light infantry on the cheap. Our effort was for nought.
In 1973 the Israelis needed 18 days to mobilize and defeat the combined militaries of Syria and Egypt. This time the Israelis were unfocused, intent on winning with air power alone, then used minimal ground force in a shallow frontal assault that was just a low-level war of attrition, and then gathered forces for a big push that lasted all of half a day or so before pulling back. They could have had longer if they hadn't misused their air power in a misguided strategic campaign that compelled Sunni Arab states to cancel their support for Israel's fight against Shia terrorists.
While the war still raged, it was obvious to me that Israel screwed the pooch in their war with Hezbollah in 2006. Don't blame America for that Israeli failure.
