Win - Win situation in the Middle East?

1. It's sad that people can't recognize sarcasm for the purposes of political satire. He's obviously not saying that either side actually won, just pointing out how ridiculous it is that both sides are claiming victory in a war that accomplished nothing.

2. Continuing with the sarcasm (as it seems I need to point that out)... When the only apparent goal for both sides was to get a lot of their own soldiers and civilians killed, towns destroyed, families displaced, resources wasted, etc, then I guess it's pretty easy to win and they both used the right strategy: fight fire with 10 times the fire, especially when you know your opponent is using exactly the same strategy. It doesn't take many iterations of that game to achieve your goal of pointless destruction--I mean, victory. However, I'm not so sure that this Israeli-Hezbollah conflict pioneered the win-win situation in the Middle East, because the US is still winning in Iraq, right??

A bit more seriously, when the stated goals and/or means of achieving these goals for both Israel and Hezbollah are so incompatible with the peaceful existence of your neighbors, then I guess you do win any time you get rid of a few of them, and make the rest livid and create grudges for them to hold for a few more generations.

3. As far as praying for people: if that's your thing, go ahead, but please pray for peace, not the military victory of one side over the other. Better yet, just remember the appalling numbers of families on BOTH sides who have lost loved ones and those whose homes have been destroyed and have to sleep in the streets as they make their way to refugee camps, thanks to the mentality that military victory is superior to coexistence. And then, after you're done praying, make sure to feel very ashamed of yourself for begging people to essentially pray for the death of your fellow human beings--again, lots of killing is the strategy of both Israel and Hezbollah.

I do. Just because someone claims they won doesn't mean they came out better than they went in, nor does it mean they actually believe they won.

I think Hezbollah gained in stature whatever it lost in people. It is pretty sad, that the world media has in its reporting of this, mostly forgotten that they started the whole thing and a lot of innocent people on both sides of the border died because of their antics. But, like the folks who send suicide bombers off to Israel (and Iraq, I suppose) don't mind if other people pay the price for their idiocy.

Israel did manage to get the UN and Lebanon to agree to fill the power vacuum that was previously being filled by Hezbollah, but since the group isn't getting disarmed, it's not much of a victory. I think the major victory for Israel, besides the diplomatic one getting the UN into the area, is that their military got a big wake-up call about their ability to fight an entrenched guerrilla enemy. The losses they took over the last few weeks will save many, many lives the next time they have to do this.

And, if history has taught us anything, we can rest assured there WILL be a next time.

It's no major victory for anybody. Hezbollah was driven farther up north, but still have all its weapons and armys intact. The incident also drew more interest and open support for Hezbollah from Iran. Hezbollah gained support of lot of people as 'defender' who fought off strongest army in middle east. Nobody won in big way, but killed whole lot of civilians that will fuel more violence in near future. Probably just a same old story of every day Middle East violence.

You can't let the politicians decide or translate the outcome. Look at how the people are reacting. Israeli citizens are dissatisfied with the outcome, and do not believe they achieved what they set out to do. They do not believe the cost of war was worth it, and are criticizing their leaders.

The majority of Lebanese on the other hand, be it Christian, Sunni, or Shia, are publically proud of what Hizbollah has achieved, and are not critical of the outcome. They believe they had won because they forced Israel to withdraw, and are willing to deal with the death and destruction inflicted by the Israelis.

The Israeli leader did not achieve their goals of eliminating Hizbollah nor of returning the 2 Israeli soldiers. Hizbollah are forcing Israel to withdraw without handing them the soldiers.

You decide now who won. Imagine an army so advanced that they never believed they could be beaten. Imagine a bunch of militias not yielding.

Thousands of innocent Lebanese civilians left dead, injured or homeless, and you say "everyone wins"? Are you merely uninformed, or do you not consider them worthy of human concern?

Until the Israeli terrorists and the US gunrunners make reparations, this will remain an unpunished war crime.

And as for a "peace treaty", unless one is a historical revisionist like the holocaust deniers, the last three "peace deals" signed (eg. the "Roadmap") were ALL violated first by the Israelis yet the Arab sides all took the blame in the "western world".

The world got to see how ridiculous the stooge president of lebanon is. He was practically shaking in his boots "thanking" hezbola for destroying his country. That's a big loss--for lebanon.

Is this a question? Israel got (I can't say it)

Once again they bowed to their so called political allies, once again they put down their weapons, showed restraint, behaved like good little boys, and did what they were told...

only to once again...AGAIN...be humiliated, be tormented, be terrorized. Once again allow their enemies to regather and attack AGAIN. Islam will not rest untill every Jew is dead. This is there holy aim, it is the reason they breathe. Nothing will stop them...pardon...nothing in this natural world will stop them untill the end of the world...

This hurts... If you believe, and even if you yet do not, I beg you; pray to God to restore the heart of Israel. Be with them as they dust off their "land for peace" hope once again. As they try to understand once again why everyone else gets to arrogantly say "we will not bargain with terrorists" while they are forced to once AGAIN not only to bargain with them, but apologize to the very people who scream for their blood.

Please I beg you: PRAY for ISRAEL!

darn, I wish I had thought of that one