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30,000 soldiers were deployed only in the last few days. During most of the time it was 10,000 (once the ground deployment was decided upon). I suggest changing it to something like: "Up to 10,000 initially. 30,000 in last few days." It would probably be better if someone who follows the article more closely changes it rather than me. ehudshapira 15:12, 22 June 2007 (UTC)
*yawn* So this issue comes up again. I don't really see it as a major issue, but hopefully we can avoid people revert warring over it by discussing it here.
I don't remember the exact reason that people oppose the term capture, as it seemed pretty neutral to me, but I can understand why people don't like the term kidnap.
Could someone explain the other viewpoint of why the term capture has worse neutrality problems? Cheers. — George [ talk 12:13, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
Yes, 'kidnap' and 'abduct' can be translated the same way in Arabic (Kh.T.F), while 'capture' or 'imprison' can be translated to A.S.R. While I'm still searching for the original for this later Nasrallah statement, we are certainly not obligated to adopt that position. I don't understand what the problem with "took hostage" is, since Hassan Nasrallah openly declares that to be the intent (i.e. Operation Truthful Promise). Tewfik Talk 17:42, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
I have no problem with abduct either. Tewfik Talk 20:06, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
I don't have the technical ability at the moment to go through the videos, but even if you are correct that the BBC and others misprinted the direct quote, the point was only that if Nasrallah uses that language then it would make it clearer that it was appropriate, but we were certainly not saying that we can only say what Nasrallah says. Many media sources use this language, as do one of the two sides of the conflict, and the neutrality of capture has been questioned repeatedly, perhaps for the same reason that you question kidnap (as an aside, "take hostage" is not exactly the same as "kidnap", and if anything seems the least problematic since, while unwieldy, it describes what Hezbollah says it was doing without any value judgements). We cannot satisfy everyone, but I think that the current compromise is the best we can do. If you have other suggestions for something that allows all of us to meet in the middle, then by all means share it with us. Tewfik Talk 18:16, 29 June 2007 (UTC)
While the news search yields 208 to 508, they are still the same order of magnitude (while the regular search of 62,600 to 88,800 is even closer, though a Google test is really not effective for this type of exercise). Regardless, the fact that one of the two parties has a different take, one which appears in the mainstream no less, and that we have compromise wording available, means that we should be using that to be neutral. In terms of what does or doesn't appear elsewhere on WP, we do not use it as a source, especially as AFAIK discussion has not taken place elsewhere. In terms of the various implications, George, I believe that the Israelis and others have used language other than "capture" to differentiate between the explicitly intentional hostage-taking, and capture in the course of conflict. Likewise we would describe the taking of Mustafa Dirani as an abduction or hostage taking. Tewfik Talk 06:35, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
My understanding is that they were immediately incapacitated and were capable of offering little or no resistance. I don't think this is the same as if they were grabbed into the back of a lorry outside an army base, but because the explicitly stated goal was to take them into custody, I still feel that it is inappropriate to use the same language as is used for any other military engagement. I believe Hezbollah intentionally uses that language because of their position that Israel occupies Lebanese land, and thus that Israelis as occupiers are fair game. None of that is really important though, just that a significant part of the conflict uses language akin to "kidnap", and that the most realistic solution would be one that compromises on intermediate language, rather than adopting that of one side. Cheers, Tewfik Talk 09:57, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
I have read through all the discussion regarding this issue ad I think the use of the work capture is much more appropriate than abduct, kidnap or took hostage. The word capture leaves it up to the reader to decide which way he/she would like to view th incident, while the other words imply illegality, thuggishness etc... You can argue that Hezbollah is a militia but you must remember that it has been given legitimacy by the Lebanese govvernment prior to this attack, by the UN when Kofi Annan visited Nasrallah or by the agreement reached between Israel and Hezbollah after the 1996Grapes of Wrath. I therefore vote for the use of the word capture. Forix r6 07:18, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
Don't want to say too much because as we all know this page is controlled by an Israeli Lobby. However i will just say the correct word should be 'captured.' Reaper7 01:07, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
I suggest we have a vote on the use of the word capture or took hostage, we will otherwise have a edit war and that is something we all do not want to do. Please sign your name below under the term you would like to use: Abufijli 11:53, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
Capture:
Abufijli 11:53, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
Forix r6 08:42, 24 July 2007 (UTC)
Took Hostage:
Close to one month has passed and no votes for the use of the word took hostage, I guess that settles it then, the word captured, which is more widely used as discussed, will be used. Abufijli 13:10, 1 August 2007 (UTC)
You were asked to vote on an issue which we can no0t reach an agreement on, you chose not to, do not change things without going through the due process. I do not want to play this game with you of editing war, if you do not like the use of the word capture vote aganst it. Abufijli 00:56, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Every single argument you used regarding the use of other terms where shown to be weak, military personnel are never kidnapped or abducted or taken hostage, they are CAPTURED. I do not want this to be a battle ground, I want to discuss it and you are the only person opposing the change and are refusing to discuss it. Abufijli 06:39, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
Military personnel are not kidnapped, they are captured. Especiallyt when this is part of an ongoing conflict such as the one in the Middle East. If the borders between these two nations where peaceful and tranquil then yes the term kidnap or took hostage or abduct can be appropriate. Abufijli 12:19, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
seize One entry found for seize. Entry Word: seize Function: verb Text: 1 to recognize the meaning of <an artist who seizes everyday reality and captures it on canvas> -- see COMPREHEND 1 ---not relevant 2 to take or keep under one's control by authority of law <seized the leaders of one of the city's major drug rings> -- see ARREST 1 - would be very wrong to use thereof. 3 to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly <seized the escaping balloon> -- see CATCH 1 -- since it's about subjects - not relevant
Amoruso 12:36, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
Dont make this an issue when it does not need to be. The term "kidnap" is correct in nature. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22](not of this particular event, but a kidnapping of soldiers.) -- Shamir1 10:09, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
The AP Reported that ~1,500 people were wounded within Israel, while ~450 Israeli soldiers were wounded in Lebanon. The statistic in the article only the former (as the source itself states). I am wondering what the best way would be to include these 450 in the article without creating a factbox that is two pages long. Suggestions? Screen stalker 15:21, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
I supported (and still support) the breakdown in the infobox (though I recall I originally opposed based on length). The only arguments that were made against it were that it made the Israeli injuries look less than the Lebanese ones, which is just a POV accusation. We have the breakdown, I don't see why more information is not better. If we had a detailed breakdown of Lebanese casualties, I would support putting that in too (assuming it wasn't overly long). Iorek85 09:09, 13 July 2007 (UTC)
shouldnt israel be capitalized?( 69.251.127.235 23:06, 11 July 2007 (UTC))
It's clear that Israel lost it. Robin Hood 1212 01:45, 13 July 2007 (UTC)
Everybody loses in War, no doubt. The HA banner says "Nasr min Allah" which is literally translated as Victory from God which is different from Divine Victory. One meaning attributing the source of Victory, the other an adjective modifying the type of victory. Something gets lost in the translation. The most impressive result of the War was that the Xtian-Shiite alliance of former Lebanese Army chief Gen Aoun and HA head Nasrallah held, even though it is now being severely tested while HA sits out the fight between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Fatah al Islam.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 23:21, 13 July 2007 (UTC)
Did somebody say 1701? See 1701 for a full Vulcan explantion of this subject.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 02:25, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
All kidding aside, everybody knows who won the war, HA, the IDF, all except perhaps some editors with an extreme case of cognitive dissonance. But I am not going to get in a wheel edit war w/ them. Last time that happened i got blocked for 45 days. The conflict related articles still erroneously describe the conflict action as guerilla warfare and still neglect the fact while the IDF might have overrun the literal surface of the ground of places like Maroun al-Ras, Bing Jbeil, etx, HA still was tunnelled underneath in the bowels of the earth and came up behind them over and over again. Those places were still contested at the end. One Haaretz commentator described it as Iwo Jima redux. Read between the lines. Here is what one expert who was in charge of HUMINT for all of the Middle East and Counterterrorism intelligence for the US says about the conflict.
The Israelis, as they have in all past wars, collected detailed information on each tank that was hit by enemy fire. Israel won't, for obvious reasons, release all this information. But they have provided some data. There were "several hundred" Merkavas sent into southern Lebanon in 2006. Of those, ten percent were hit by enemy fire (including mines and roadside bombs). Merkava faced modern anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) for the first time in 2006. Only 18 tanks were seriously damaged, and only a third of those were from several hundred ATGMs fired by Hizbollah. Only two of the 18 heavily damaged tanks were destroyed, and both of those were damaged by roadside bombs. In those two cases, the tank was over the bomb when it was detonated.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/articles/20070115.aspx
Flayer 22:24, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
No, not of the article (sighs of relief) but why do we need four alternative names in the opening paragraph? Do we really need to point out every possible name it could be known by? I was happy for the names used in Lebanon and Israel, as they indicate that the current title is a compromise, but four of them seems excessive. Next we'll have to have a section for the names of the war... Iorek85 00:28, 29 July 2007 (UTC)
The article should address it somewhere. As i have tirelessly pointed out, the military experts have said it was not classic guerrila warfare but that HA in Lang's words "fought from fortified positions dug into the terrain and sited for mutual support." These positions were sometimes as deep as 20 meters, had steel blast doors, TV cameras, and were very sophisticated. Thus a position may be overrun on the surface but not fully occupied. This is why Maroun al-Ras was contested at the end of the war. I made the following edit. It was reverted by guess-who. It is key to understanding the War. It was not a guerilla war. HA waged an Iwo Jima or Okinawa type defense but prevailed.
"*Journalists Alastair Crooke and Mark Perry in their three part series HOW HEZBOLLAH DEFEATED ISRAEL in the Asia Times vividly describe the essential elements of this battle. The following is from PART 2: Winning the ground war
I find that having Imad Mughniyeh as a Hezbollah commander in the war a little strange. Little is known about the man and even less is known about his involvement, if any in this war. I read the sources to his inclusion and they do not give any credible information about his involvement, Hezbollah and Israel have not said anything about the man, I do not think he should be included as a commander based on those two sources, a mention in the article some place is much more appropriate. Awaiting feedback Abufijli 07:02, 5 August 2007 (UTC)
What exactly did he command and who has given information about his involvement other than an Israeli right wing newspaper and a little known arabic newspaper, both of these articles give no solid proof for his involvement. If anyone has any other more reliable information please bring it forward. Abufijli 10:58, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
Was this war different from previous assymetric conflicts? Hezbollah seemed more capable than other insurgent groups (such as those in Iraq) at taking on modern tanks and helicopters. IIRC, the US didn't lose a single tank going into Iraq, whilst the Israelis lost 5 in this conflict. Also, Hezbollah made extensive use of rockets, and were able to bombard Israel right up to the end of the war. I don't recall other guerilla groups doing this on such a scale.
Regardless of who 'won' the war, Hezbollah seems to have held their own remarkably well considering how easily forces such as the Taleban were defeated. If they have discovered new and better tactics to fight western armies, can we expect to see others copying these tactics?
I'm no military expert, so I'm not the editor to do this really. Could someone more knowledgable about such matters comment? Damburger 16:01, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
Read the refrences at the article
Battle of Maroun al-Ras There's a three part Asia Times article and Times online article Godspeed John Glenn!
Will 03:41, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
Is there anything in this article that won't be argued about? Anyway, multiple relaible sources state they were mostly civilians, including the Lebanese government. We've had this argument before, IIRC. You shouldn't tag every single number with a "claimed". It's not correct to state it is "claimed" that there are 200 or so countries in the world; or that it is "claimed" that 119 Israeli soldiers were killed. You use "claimed" when there are multiple disputing sides, and no reliable source, otherwise everything we have in wikipedia should be marked "claimed". In fact, that is why we attribute everything. The "claimed" is not necessary, because we link to who is claiming it. Using "claimed" just tries to add doubt by weasel-wording. Iorek85 06:26, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
I'd be happy to do as you suggested and remove all of the explanatory text. I don't know how long it would last, however. Iorek85 10:28, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
Both of these issues are quite similar in that we are balancing the coexistence of seemingly mutually exclusive statements with the need to avoid original synthesis. In the absence of RS discussing these problems, I don't think we have the ability to do anything except ensure that whatever RS reports we do have are represented clearly, perhaps juxtaposing them so that the reader can be aware of all statements simultaneously. I think on both counts status quo ante bellum would probably be best. Tewfik Talk 22:54, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
Hi Funky, I apologise if my edit summary wasn't clear, but the sourcing was only one part of the reasoning for removal of the image, the oter which was that an image highlighting a similar point already exists, and the weight of such images is even greater following the recent removal of several other images. The image's encyclopaedic value is also questionable, since Wikipedia is not a memorial. Cheers, Tewfik Talk 22:42, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
I support this notice as being relevant to anyone who has engaged in good-faith discussion with either User:Teens! or User:Clintonesque believing them to have been separate distinct editors. It is impossible to understand consensus here without being aware of past sockpuppetry. Italia vivi 20:22, 28 August 2007 (UTC)
He identified the Hezbollah defense during the Israel-Hezbollah July 2006 War not as classic guerilla tactics but as a defensive "belt" which he calls the " Tabouleh" Line. These were linked and fortified defensive positions integrated with the terrain and sited for mutual support. He had previously explored that concept in a paper written during the Cold War. [1] Lang has also applied an analytical criterion to determine who won the conflict:
"A basic lesson of history is that one must win on the battlefield to dictate the peace. A proof of winning on the battlefield has always been possession of that battlefield when the shooting stops. Those who remain on the field are just about always believed to have been victorious. Those who leave the field are believed to be the defeated." [2]
He agrees with news reports that Hezbollah is building a new "Tabouleh" line north of the Litani River on high ground just outside the UNIFIL separation zone. [28]Godspeed John Glenn! Will 15:28, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
When looking at a winner or looser in a war one must look at the objectives placed by both parties at the begining or before the war. Israel's objectives where clear from the start. Destroy Hezbollah, return of captured soldiers, placement of Nato forces in south Lebanon, reaching Litani river, and these objectives go watered down as the battle became fierce. Hezbollah's only objective was to make the war costly to Israel in terms of lives lost. It is clear who was able to achieve the objectives set out at the begining of the war. Therefore, I think the most reasonable statement would be that HA is widely believed to have won the war, but some observers say it was a draw. Abufijli 10:47, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
Hello guys
The result of this war is clearly a political win of Hezbollah, I guess everyboy agree that... And, one year after the facts, we can admit it was a military draw- Israel couldn't totally destroy Hezbollah but severly injuried it- ... Whether you have several credible evidences (that excludes sources from Hezbollah, Israeli government, US current governement, islamist etc...) against these facts, please discuss with me on my talk. I will follow the fundamental principle of wikipedia : Assume good faith; remember that this rule "does not require that editors continue to assume good faith in the presence of evidence to the contrary." Mrpouetpouet 17:50, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
The discussion on the
background has been fizzling out, so I'm relaunching because the current version is still inaccurate but we haven't reached any consensus on change. This is the last message I posted on the issue, copied from above.
Sorry about my delay in re-engaging in this discussion. From what I can see the argument over the refugees doesn't seem to have advanced significantly. The problem with their absense remains. To mention the presence of the PLO without including the refugees aswell is misleading. The refugee camps provided the base and the flow of recruits for the PLO, and as such were as significant as the presence of the leadership itself. George's simile on a match and gasoline is a good one. The present version of events is inadequate because it struggles with more than an incomplete version of events, the absense of this information creates an inaccurate impression, it suggest that it was simply the PLO, and not an actual Palestinian population, that was in Lebanon. This gives the reader a dangerously false idea of the situation in Lebanon at the time. The complementary problem that Israel's perspective is given in describing its attack on Lebanon, but the Palestinian perspective in attacking Israel is not given. Tewfik's main argument is that there were many other factors equally relavent to the PLO's strength. But there weren't, certainly not in terms of the PLO's support base. Co-operation of groups like Druze, Shiites or Sunnis with the PLO was far more opportunistic, complex and peripheral. The PLO would almost certainly have been able to establish itself in Lebanon without any other group allying itself with them, but its highly unlikely they would have in the absense of the refugees. Though I know you dipute this, two sources I have provided do re-affirm this greater importance. Nwe 15:41, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
A devils' adovcate could say the following: "the root of instability of Lebanon is, of course, the failure to return the Palestinian refugees to their homes per UN resolutions. Saddam was selectively fried for alleged failure to comply with UN resolutions but Israel ignores them with impunity. Likewise the present nuclear Iran crisis. One country is armed to the teeth with undeclared nukes but has laid down the marker that the Persians will not be allowed to have a peaceful program that gives them a military 'capability.' The unspoken hypocrisy is deafening." I don't know what kind of response could be made to that advocacy. But that is the background. A perceived hypocrisy. Treating "resisters" to occupation as enemies of Europe and the U.S. as well as the occupying power. Thus Hamas and HA are enemies of the U.S. Godspeed John Glenn! Will 02:00, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
At present the background mentions PLO attacks against Israel, Syrian, Black September and the Lebanese Civil War. To include all this and not the tremendous component of the Palestinian refugees is absurd. Nwe 14:58, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
No response for a week, I'm going to have to see what I can do on my own. Nwe 16:41, 15 August 2007 (UTC)
"Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, in response to attacks from Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) militants expelled from Jordan eleven years earlier, and after failing to stem the attacks with a previous invasion in 1978. It successfully expelled the PLO from Lebanon, and withdrew to a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, held with the aid of proxy militants in the South Lebanon Army (SLA). In 1985, a Lebanese Shi'a milita calling itself Hezbollah declared an armed struggle to end the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory. On May 25, 2000, following the collapse of the SLA and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces, Israeli troops withdrew to their side of the UN designated border, six weeks earlier than planned. However, citing Israeli control of the disputed Shebaa farms region, and the incarceration of Lebanese prisoners in Israel, Hezbollah continued its attacks. In 2004, Hezbollah sucessfully used the tactic of seizing Israeli soldiers as leverage for a prisoner exchange."
Sorry for my delay in getting back to this. Tewfik's current main assertion is that reference to Palestinian refugees is too indirect. The MERIA and certainly the BBC sources which I have provided dispute this and, as George has pointed out, there are several other equally or even more indirect facts mentioned in the background. George's above suggestion for cutting down on all indirect information is viable, but I think that in an article like this a fairly substantial background could be useful to people, so it would be more ideal to maintain the current indirect info mentioned above, and to add an equally relevant reference to the refugees and perhaps a few other matters. Nwe 15:54, 5 September 2007 (UTC)
I think regarding this article that it's important that although Hezbollah was by far the largest militia organization, and took the most part in the conflict, that even in Lebanon they (and other groups) are collectively known as the 'resistance'. As the article indicates this loose coalition includes the LCP, Amal and the PFLP-GC, and enjoyed great popular support not just as a partisan shia resistance by a national one, I think this deserves more recognition in this article. If I can quote the article linked in this wiki file:
" Despite persistent attempts to cast Hezbollah as an isolated "terrorist organization" of Shi'ite Muslims, the majority of the Lebanese population - including Christians and Sunni Muslims - have thrown their support behind the group. In one recent local survey, 87% of the population was reported to be supporting Hezbollah, including four out of every five Christians and Druze and nine out of every 10 Sunni Muslims.
But while most Lebanese acknowledge Hezbollah's leading role in fighting Israel, what many Lebanese consistently refer to as the "national resistance" is a broad coalition that includes virtually all of Lebanon's most important political forces, including Amal, the other main Shi'ite movement, the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), other left groups and liberal democrats - and even the right-wing Free Patriotic Movement of General Michel Aoun.
"We have a joke that, in the average Lebanese family with seven children, four will be with Hezbollah, two will be with the communists and one will be with Amal - all of them with the resistance," says Khaled Hadadeh, secretary general of the LCP.
The LCP, a leftist secular party whose membership cuts across the confessional lines, has itself been very close to Hezbollah and fought alongside it in the frontlines in the south. According to Hadadeh, at least 12 LCP members and supporters died in the fighting. " —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.179.253.195 ( talk) 02:01, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
This is a very biased Zionist POV title, how can we change the title to something more neutral like the "2006 Israel-Lebanon war" or at least add the much accepted "2006 Israeli war on Lebanon"
"No the title = NPOV. You think that: "2006 Israeli war on Lebanon" is neutral ?? ^^ Mrpouetpouet 13:08, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
What about "Indecisive", or something with it? Flayer 17:48, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
What about "contested"?
Flayer 16:03, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
It's reasonably clear that the Result was a hizbollah victory. There are plenty of sources that show this. Even the Israeli public largely believes that they lost. Even dubya believes that Israel lost. That's why I like the wording "Widely (or Largely) considered a Hizbollah victory". Pocopocopocopoco 13:26, 11 September 2007 (UTC)
I agree with Pocopocopocopoco a note must be added to say that if the military victory is disputed (even if Tsahal miss its first goal destroying Hezbollah), Hezbollah obiously got a major political victory ! Of course Irraeli's supporters don't agree but it's an obvious fact most of the media and expert, even Israeli agree with that conclusion !! Do you think that the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Dan Halutz, announced his resignation after the war because he decided to leave the army to sell popocorn ! Guy let's respect the NPOV. I'm not Lebanese, I'm not Israeli, I would have prefer an Israeli victory on Hezbollah but facts are facts. If that war is not a failure none of them are ! Mrpouetpouet 13:19, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
Discuss. Pocopocopocopoco 01:26, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
YaLibnan is not all that stable as a cite. Nor is the Financial Times. But I was able to google it again. Just because you can't retrieve it again, doesn't mean, it wasn't there the first time. Ahh the problem with dead links. "US warns Turkey over Kurdish rebels By Guy Dinmore in Washington Published: April 29 2007 19:12 | Last updated: April 29 2007 19:12 As Turkey ponders a military incursion into northern Iraq to attack Kurdish rebel bases just beyond its border, the US has begun warning Ankara to learn a lesson from what some officials in Washington are starting to call Israel’s “strategic de-feat” in Lebanon under similar circumstances last summer. When a ceasefire brokered by the United Nations took effect in Lebanon last August, President George W. Bush – who had backed Israel in the month-long war against Hizbollah – declared: “Hizbollah attacked Israel. Hizbollah started the crisis, and Hizbollah suffered a defeat in this crisis”. But recently, in its effort to persuade Turkey not to attack Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq, the Bush administration has been presenting in private a different assessment of Israel’s experience. In lobbying Turkey to stay its hand, US officials have described Israel’s war against the Shia militant group as a “strategic defeat” that failed to achieve Israel’s military goals, brought widespread international condemnation upon it, and destroyed the “myth of the invincibility of the Israeli army”. US warns Turkey over Kurdish rebelsGodspeed John Glenn! Will 16:41, 20 September 2007 (UTC)Of course the Kurdish Press picked up the story [32] I also saw it at debka.comGodspeed John Glenn! Will 16:53, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
It's my belief everybody loses in a war, but that's not encyclopediac. HA says they won. A lot of the IDF generals say they lost. The Israeli politicians say they won. Who to believe? Credibility is the guide. Even the Israeli public gives Nasrallah high marks for authenticity. "The participants of the poll were asked who gave them a sense of certainty regarding the continuance of the war, and who was most authentic. The results were unequivocal: The Israeli public chose Nasrallah's speeches as giving it both." Poll: Israelis believed Nasrallah over PeretzGodspeed John Glenn! Will 19:50, 20 September 2007 (UTC).
It seems to me that there is a clear consensus that Israel lost. However, If this means that Hizbullah won (and if Hizbullah won at all) is still disputed. I there for propose that the current "victory disputed" be replaced with "Hizbullah victory disputed", thus leaving no doubt whose victory is disputed. Any comments? Objections? Rami R 21:10, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
IMO, "Hizbullah victory disputed" implies that it is unclear if Hizbullah won, but it is clear that Israel lost (or at least didn't win). "Hizbullah victory (disputed)" implies that it is clear that Hizbullah won (and Israel lost), but certain "quacks" dispute it. Again IMO. Rami R 08:03, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
As part of the WikiProject Good Articles, we're doing sweeps to go over all of the current GAs and see if they still meet the GA criteria. I'm specifically going over all of the "Conflicts, battles and military exercises" articles. I believe the article currently meets the criteria and should remain listed as a Good article. Two things that should be fixed:
Other then this, the article still meets the GA criteria. Editors of the article should seriously consider taking the article to WP:FAC. I'd recommend getting a peer review and copyedit first, and make sure to have all of the inline citation templates consistently formatted. By the way, you might want to archive this talk page as well, it's starting to get a little long. At this point, good job, and I have edited the article history to reflect this review. Regards, Nehrams2020 22:46, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
By way of analogy no one would dispute the fact the U.S. Senator Larry Craig said he was not "gay." Although many would dispute the contents of his statement whether he was indeed "gay." Likewise the BBC and another source, inter alia, have clearly stated that Arab Israelie citizens say that Israel sites its military installations close to Arab population centers. The siting may or may not be true. Becuase of the heavy military censorship, it my be neigh impossible to verify or report out the verification, but it is irrefutable that the assertion of the siting has been made. Yet User: Tewfik has deleted the following reference twice.
Setting aside the truth content of the statement. It is irrefutable that it was made by former MK Bishara. If you believe in balance a neutral point of view then it should be in there. That's why I put the Israeli problematic allegation about HA hiding rockets among civilians above side by side for comparison. Now moving beyond the bare allegation and going to its truth content b/c it was raised. Jonathan Cook has this to say about it, which is irrelevant except to perhaps to help some editors discover their extreme POV. "As a first-hand observer of the fighting from Israel's side of the border last year, I noted on several occasions that Israel had built many of its permanent military installations, including weapons factories and army camps, and set up temporary artillery positions next to -- and in some cases inside -- civilian communities in the north of Israel." Further Cook says about HA rockets hidden among civilians (which were used to justify bombing civilian targets). This is the problematic statement I mentioned above. "
NPOV means BALANCE. If you put in Israeli allegations, then you put in counterbalancing allegations. Israel with its guided precise munitions pounded Lebanese infrastructure flat with overwhelmingly civilian casualties. Peres in previous operations had disclosed the reason- to make the civilians flee north to put psycological pressure on the government (while bombing the roads-see Grapes of Wrath). HA with its relatively unguided munitions inflicted mostly military casualties with some civilian deaths. Former MK Bishara who had to flee for his life. Nazareth Israeli resident Cook explain what he saw with his own eyes and what HA was aiming at. Because of the Israeli military censorship, that is as as good an accounting as you are going to get, period. I can spend half a day googling and probably find six more sources. Why should I have to? To meet Tewfik's objection about single sourcing, I found another one. How hi is the bar set? It keeps getting raised.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 13:49, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
IT was obvious no news report would corroborate this topic or get past the military censors but human rights watch. Now that is anoter matter. Israel’s Obligations to Take Precautions against the Effects of Attacks. And it's a fair report. Castigating both sides. There you go Lorek. That's another synonym for NPOV- fair.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 14:16, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
Cpme on. Addressing Tewfik, Not concerned about the technical conclusions of the report but the facts that escape the military censors. The facts support the allegations that military installations are placed indiscriminately next to Arab and it appears artillery fired from Arab as well as Jewish communities in one identified case in the middle of a town street. This "mingling" is what HA was accused of. It also appears he the editor is determined not to give Bashar any airing. Facts from the report.
^When Human Rights Watch on July 23 visited the Jewish village of Zarit, located some 750 meters from the border, we watched the IDF firing 155mm shells from 109 howitzer cannons parked on a residential street. The same day, we observed an artillery platoon firing into Lebanon from atop a hill just beyond a residential area of northern Kiryat Shmona (population 22,100). Col. Kuperstein, in charge of the IDF’s Department of Physical Protection, denied that the IDF placed artillery batteries next to or in civilian neighborhoods, claiming that they were all placed in open places. But when asked about the artillery unit Human Rights Watch had seen firing from a street in Zarit, Col. Kuperstein replied, “I think we could call it an open space. It’s a village on the northern border.”
I wouldn't have made a big point about this, but i had seen the same point made many times. At least in connection with Haifa where HA asked the Arab residents to watch out (or move out) for rockets falling short on their way to the military harbor. Thanks for separating the different stages. First stage, a charge or allegation is made. Anybody can make an allegation. An allegation is like a pregnancy. To become real, it has to be delivered. If delivered, then it becomes a fact. Facts, even if they exist, may or may not support a conclusion. It is indisputable that the allegation of co-mingling of artillery, as well as proximity of military assets, to civilians was made. that's the allegation. That's all that one sentence in the article says and for balance and fairness it definitely needs to be in there. Moving beyond that there is a factual basis for it in the corroboration by Cook and the HW report. Moving beyond that, do the facts support that it constituted a "human shield?" That is a matter of conscious design and intent and reasonable people can disagree on that. Certainly all combatants would prefer their opponents to stand in the open away from all civilians and give them a clear shot at them. In the best light to the IDF, they have never had to worry much about the opponents "Air Force." This may explain why they shot their cannons from a street in a Jewish town. Not good practice, shooting from a civilian area. And if HA was shooting rockets from a populated town, they would have been likewise condemned. Praying for Peace to break out.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 14:40, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
We don't need to have a novel in the factbox about who won nor write one trying to decide that. What may happen is a non-consensus outcome will get put in and then the article will get protected in that state. We can agree that the subject of the outcome is as disputed and contested as the outcome itself. Let's just put DISPUTED or CONTESTED and move one.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 11:39, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
My introduction to wikipedia was the Juan Cole page which was protected iMHO in a defamatory state for what seemed like months. csloat has a funny line from that era on his user page. "the people in charge of Wikipedia have closed the entrance and opened a discussion on her who does not seem that she is going to arrive nowhere." --google translate. Godspeed John Glenn! Will 15:37, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
Loathe am I to make major changes to the article, but I think the length of the article is unwieldy. For me, the reviews of the conflict and 'post conflict events' are the longest sections; perhaps we could merge the two and create a separate article for them? Compacting these sections, summary style, would cut about 30 references and a good few KB of text. From a quick check, the article prose is 8,300 words long, 53kB, and the whole article is 122kb. It lies in the middle of the 'to long' guidelines for size, so it isn't an urgent split, but one that should be considered. Iorek 00:41, 24 September 2007 (UTC)
I have noticed that in the infobox, it says that the two Israeli soldiers are POWs, while the Hezbollah soldiers are 'captured'. While you can stretch it and say that according to the Third Geneva Convention this would be true, you can also say quite rightly that the Hezbollah does not recognize the Third Geneva Convention, therefore the two Israeli soldiers are not POWs. Moreover, Israeli law insures that each foreign prisoner in an Israeli jail, whether a POW or not by definition, is treated as a POW according to the Third Geneva Convention. Therefore, if anything, the 13 Hezbollah soldiers should be POWs. However, for the sake of neutrality, I propose using the same term for both sides ('captured' would be fine, as it has no legal meaning AFAIK). -- Ynhockey ( Talk) 12:44, 27 September 2007 (UTC)
Throughout editing this article there has been much talk about its name. Long discussions have gone by, and much arguing. There is no other encyclopedia, newspaper, or reliable source that has published a summary of this war and named it "Lebanon War". Other alternatives, per the naming policy, have been proposed. The best thing to do now is to move the page back to what it was called originally, 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. Any other verifiable names that can be added with "...also known as...", making things easier, and this seems to be general and acceptable. This is to be done especially until a final decision is reached. It is in fact the original and properly refers to the article. This should not have any issues for now. Thank you. -- Shamir1 00:28, 18 October 2007 (UTC)
Well then we may as well keep the "War" part. I still feel as though Israel's name ought to be included. While all conventional operations took place in Lebanon, Israel was still involved and targets within Israel were still being fired at. I actually don't understand why the title was changed in the first place from Israel-Lebanon to simply Lebanon, because I haven't found too many sources which use this title outside of Israel. Why not 2006 Israel-Lebanon War, then? - 68.43.58.42 22:04, 21 October 2007 (UTC)
Good thinking, all of you. I will show a very complete list of other sources with summaries of the war and what they call it, and I like the brainstorming. Remember that war is a type of conflict. Every war is a conflict, although not necessarily vice versa. (It cannot be called Israel-Lebanon War because, aside from the fact that very few if any reputable sources at all use that term, it infers it was a war between Israel and Lebanon). Also remember that attacks were being made on Israeli soil. I will post the list soon. -- Shamir1 04:03, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
Personally I have long been in favor of 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War, and have other sources, very many scholary, to support it. However, my list of such sources are all in favor of that name. In the interest of a neutral discussion, I have only posted the above list, which is everything I found from news media, regardless of which name used. -- Shamir1 04:16, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
It seems worthy to note that according to google "2006 Lebanon war" is a more common name than "2006 Israel-Lebanon war": a simple google search of "2006 Lebanon war" yields 37,300 results, [44] while a search for "2006 Israel-Lebanon war" yields 10,200 results. [45] A google scholar search for "2006 Lebanon war" yields 28 results, [46] while a search for "2006 Israel-Lebanon war" yields 3 results. [47] Of course this is just google and doesn't bind wikipedia in anyway, but it does give an indication of the expressions popularity (as search terms). Rami R 11:23, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
LOL! Still going, Shamir. I like your tenacity. I'm not going to be arguing in this one, not after the previous marathon sessions. I'll just say that I still stand behind my support for this name (it is a geographic one that is not the best name, but a comprimise until the world decides what the real name is) because nothing has changed. There is still no common consensus, there are still many different names (most of which use war). Interesting to see you've shifted to Israel-Lebanon, though. I'm guessing that's because you think it will be easier to change it from that to Israel-Hezbollah. Have fun, because debating this endlessly sure isn't. Iorek 08:29, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 40 | Archive 41 | Archive 42 | Archive 43 | Archive 44 | Archive 45 | → | Archive 49 |
30,000 soldiers were deployed only in the last few days. During most of the time it was 10,000 (once the ground deployment was decided upon). I suggest changing it to something like: "Up to 10,000 initially. 30,000 in last few days." It would probably be better if someone who follows the article more closely changes it rather than me. ehudshapira 15:12, 22 June 2007 (UTC)
*yawn* So this issue comes up again. I don't really see it as a major issue, but hopefully we can avoid people revert warring over it by discussing it here.
I don't remember the exact reason that people oppose the term capture, as it seemed pretty neutral to me, but I can understand why people don't like the term kidnap.
Could someone explain the other viewpoint of why the term capture has worse neutrality problems? Cheers. — George [ talk 12:13, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
Yes, 'kidnap' and 'abduct' can be translated the same way in Arabic (Kh.T.F), while 'capture' or 'imprison' can be translated to A.S.R. While I'm still searching for the original for this later Nasrallah statement, we are certainly not obligated to adopt that position. I don't understand what the problem with "took hostage" is, since Hassan Nasrallah openly declares that to be the intent (i.e. Operation Truthful Promise). Tewfik Talk 17:42, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
I have no problem with abduct either. Tewfik Talk 20:06, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
I don't have the technical ability at the moment to go through the videos, but even if you are correct that the BBC and others misprinted the direct quote, the point was only that if Nasrallah uses that language then it would make it clearer that it was appropriate, but we were certainly not saying that we can only say what Nasrallah says. Many media sources use this language, as do one of the two sides of the conflict, and the neutrality of capture has been questioned repeatedly, perhaps for the same reason that you question kidnap (as an aside, "take hostage" is not exactly the same as "kidnap", and if anything seems the least problematic since, while unwieldy, it describes what Hezbollah says it was doing without any value judgements). We cannot satisfy everyone, but I think that the current compromise is the best we can do. If you have other suggestions for something that allows all of us to meet in the middle, then by all means share it with us. Tewfik Talk 18:16, 29 June 2007 (UTC)
While the news search yields 208 to 508, they are still the same order of magnitude (while the regular search of 62,600 to 88,800 is even closer, though a Google test is really not effective for this type of exercise). Regardless, the fact that one of the two parties has a different take, one which appears in the mainstream no less, and that we have compromise wording available, means that we should be using that to be neutral. In terms of what does or doesn't appear elsewhere on WP, we do not use it as a source, especially as AFAIK discussion has not taken place elsewhere. In terms of the various implications, George, I believe that the Israelis and others have used language other than "capture" to differentiate between the explicitly intentional hostage-taking, and capture in the course of conflict. Likewise we would describe the taking of Mustafa Dirani as an abduction or hostage taking. Tewfik Talk 06:35, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
My understanding is that they were immediately incapacitated and were capable of offering little or no resistance. I don't think this is the same as if they were grabbed into the back of a lorry outside an army base, but because the explicitly stated goal was to take them into custody, I still feel that it is inappropriate to use the same language as is used for any other military engagement. I believe Hezbollah intentionally uses that language because of their position that Israel occupies Lebanese land, and thus that Israelis as occupiers are fair game. None of that is really important though, just that a significant part of the conflict uses language akin to "kidnap", and that the most realistic solution would be one that compromises on intermediate language, rather than adopting that of one side. Cheers, Tewfik Talk 09:57, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
I have read through all the discussion regarding this issue ad I think the use of the work capture is much more appropriate than abduct, kidnap or took hostage. The word capture leaves it up to the reader to decide which way he/she would like to view th incident, while the other words imply illegality, thuggishness etc... You can argue that Hezbollah is a militia but you must remember that it has been given legitimacy by the Lebanese govvernment prior to this attack, by the UN when Kofi Annan visited Nasrallah or by the agreement reached between Israel and Hezbollah after the 1996Grapes of Wrath. I therefore vote for the use of the word capture. Forix r6 07:18, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
Don't want to say too much because as we all know this page is controlled by an Israeli Lobby. However i will just say the correct word should be 'captured.' Reaper7 01:07, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
I suggest we have a vote on the use of the word capture or took hostage, we will otherwise have a edit war and that is something we all do not want to do. Please sign your name below under the term you would like to use: Abufijli 11:53, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
Capture:
Abufijli 11:53, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
Forix r6 08:42, 24 July 2007 (UTC)
Took Hostage:
Close to one month has passed and no votes for the use of the word took hostage, I guess that settles it then, the word captured, which is more widely used as discussed, will be used. Abufijli 13:10, 1 August 2007 (UTC)
You were asked to vote on an issue which we can no0t reach an agreement on, you chose not to, do not change things without going through the due process. I do not want to play this game with you of editing war, if you do not like the use of the word capture vote aganst it. Abufijli 00:56, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
Every single argument you used regarding the use of other terms where shown to be weak, military personnel are never kidnapped or abducted or taken hostage, they are CAPTURED. I do not want this to be a battle ground, I want to discuss it and you are the only person opposing the change and are refusing to discuss it. Abufijli 06:39, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
Military personnel are not kidnapped, they are captured. Especiallyt when this is part of an ongoing conflict such as the one in the Middle East. If the borders between these two nations where peaceful and tranquil then yes the term kidnap or took hostage or abduct can be appropriate. Abufijli 12:19, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
seize One entry found for seize. Entry Word: seize Function: verb Text: 1 to recognize the meaning of <an artist who seizes everyday reality and captures it on canvas> -- see COMPREHEND 1 ---not relevant 2 to take or keep under one's control by authority of law <seized the leaders of one of the city's major drug rings> -- see ARREST 1 - would be very wrong to use thereof. 3 to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly <seized the escaping balloon> -- see CATCH 1 -- since it's about subjects - not relevant
Amoruso 12:36, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
Dont make this an issue when it does not need to be. The term "kidnap" is correct in nature. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22](not of this particular event, but a kidnapping of soldiers.) -- Shamir1 10:09, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
The AP Reported that ~1,500 people were wounded within Israel, while ~450 Israeli soldiers were wounded in Lebanon. The statistic in the article only the former (as the source itself states). I am wondering what the best way would be to include these 450 in the article without creating a factbox that is two pages long. Suggestions? Screen stalker 15:21, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
I supported (and still support) the breakdown in the infobox (though I recall I originally opposed based on length). The only arguments that were made against it were that it made the Israeli injuries look less than the Lebanese ones, which is just a POV accusation. We have the breakdown, I don't see why more information is not better. If we had a detailed breakdown of Lebanese casualties, I would support putting that in too (assuming it wasn't overly long). Iorek85 09:09, 13 July 2007 (UTC)
shouldnt israel be capitalized?( 69.251.127.235 23:06, 11 July 2007 (UTC))
It's clear that Israel lost it. Robin Hood 1212 01:45, 13 July 2007 (UTC)
Everybody loses in War, no doubt. The HA banner says "Nasr min Allah" which is literally translated as Victory from God which is different from Divine Victory. One meaning attributing the source of Victory, the other an adjective modifying the type of victory. Something gets lost in the translation. The most impressive result of the War was that the Xtian-Shiite alliance of former Lebanese Army chief Gen Aoun and HA head Nasrallah held, even though it is now being severely tested while HA sits out the fight between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Fatah al Islam.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 23:21, 13 July 2007 (UTC)
Did somebody say 1701? See 1701 for a full Vulcan explantion of this subject.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 02:25, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
All kidding aside, everybody knows who won the war, HA, the IDF, all except perhaps some editors with an extreme case of cognitive dissonance. But I am not going to get in a wheel edit war w/ them. Last time that happened i got blocked for 45 days. The conflict related articles still erroneously describe the conflict action as guerilla warfare and still neglect the fact while the IDF might have overrun the literal surface of the ground of places like Maroun al-Ras, Bing Jbeil, etx, HA still was tunnelled underneath in the bowels of the earth and came up behind them over and over again. Those places were still contested at the end. One Haaretz commentator described it as Iwo Jima redux. Read between the lines. Here is what one expert who was in charge of HUMINT for all of the Middle East and Counterterrorism intelligence for the US says about the conflict.
The Israelis, as they have in all past wars, collected detailed information on each tank that was hit by enemy fire. Israel won't, for obvious reasons, release all this information. But they have provided some data. There were "several hundred" Merkavas sent into southern Lebanon in 2006. Of those, ten percent were hit by enemy fire (including mines and roadside bombs). Merkava faced modern anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) for the first time in 2006. Only 18 tanks were seriously damaged, and only a third of those were from several hundred ATGMs fired by Hizbollah. Only two of the 18 heavily damaged tanks were destroyed, and both of those were damaged by roadside bombs. In those two cases, the tank was over the bomb when it was detonated.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/articles/20070115.aspx
Flayer 22:24, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
No, not of the article (sighs of relief) but why do we need four alternative names in the opening paragraph? Do we really need to point out every possible name it could be known by? I was happy for the names used in Lebanon and Israel, as they indicate that the current title is a compromise, but four of them seems excessive. Next we'll have to have a section for the names of the war... Iorek85 00:28, 29 July 2007 (UTC)
The article should address it somewhere. As i have tirelessly pointed out, the military experts have said it was not classic guerrila warfare but that HA in Lang's words "fought from fortified positions dug into the terrain and sited for mutual support." These positions were sometimes as deep as 20 meters, had steel blast doors, TV cameras, and were very sophisticated. Thus a position may be overrun on the surface but not fully occupied. This is why Maroun al-Ras was contested at the end of the war. I made the following edit. It was reverted by guess-who. It is key to understanding the War. It was not a guerilla war. HA waged an Iwo Jima or Okinawa type defense but prevailed.
"*Journalists Alastair Crooke and Mark Perry in their three part series HOW HEZBOLLAH DEFEATED ISRAEL in the Asia Times vividly describe the essential elements of this battle. The following is from PART 2: Winning the ground war
I find that having Imad Mughniyeh as a Hezbollah commander in the war a little strange. Little is known about the man and even less is known about his involvement, if any in this war. I read the sources to his inclusion and they do not give any credible information about his involvement, Hezbollah and Israel have not said anything about the man, I do not think he should be included as a commander based on those two sources, a mention in the article some place is much more appropriate. Awaiting feedback Abufijli 07:02, 5 August 2007 (UTC)
What exactly did he command and who has given information about his involvement other than an Israeli right wing newspaper and a little known arabic newspaper, both of these articles give no solid proof for his involvement. If anyone has any other more reliable information please bring it forward. Abufijli 10:58, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
Was this war different from previous assymetric conflicts? Hezbollah seemed more capable than other insurgent groups (such as those in Iraq) at taking on modern tanks and helicopters. IIRC, the US didn't lose a single tank going into Iraq, whilst the Israelis lost 5 in this conflict. Also, Hezbollah made extensive use of rockets, and were able to bombard Israel right up to the end of the war. I don't recall other guerilla groups doing this on such a scale.
Regardless of who 'won' the war, Hezbollah seems to have held their own remarkably well considering how easily forces such as the Taleban were defeated. If they have discovered new and better tactics to fight western armies, can we expect to see others copying these tactics?
I'm no military expert, so I'm not the editor to do this really. Could someone more knowledgable about such matters comment? Damburger 16:01, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
Read the refrences at the article
Battle of Maroun al-Ras There's a three part Asia Times article and Times online article Godspeed John Glenn!
Will 03:41, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
Is there anything in this article that won't be argued about? Anyway, multiple relaible sources state they were mostly civilians, including the Lebanese government. We've had this argument before, IIRC. You shouldn't tag every single number with a "claimed". It's not correct to state it is "claimed" that there are 200 or so countries in the world; or that it is "claimed" that 119 Israeli soldiers were killed. You use "claimed" when there are multiple disputing sides, and no reliable source, otherwise everything we have in wikipedia should be marked "claimed". In fact, that is why we attribute everything. The "claimed" is not necessary, because we link to who is claiming it. Using "claimed" just tries to add doubt by weasel-wording. Iorek85 06:26, 13 August 2007 (UTC)
I'd be happy to do as you suggested and remove all of the explanatory text. I don't know how long it would last, however. Iorek85 10:28, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
Both of these issues are quite similar in that we are balancing the coexistence of seemingly mutually exclusive statements with the need to avoid original synthesis. In the absence of RS discussing these problems, I don't think we have the ability to do anything except ensure that whatever RS reports we do have are represented clearly, perhaps juxtaposing them so that the reader can be aware of all statements simultaneously. I think on both counts status quo ante bellum would probably be best. Tewfik Talk 22:54, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
Hi Funky, I apologise if my edit summary wasn't clear, but the sourcing was only one part of the reasoning for removal of the image, the oter which was that an image highlighting a similar point already exists, and the weight of such images is even greater following the recent removal of several other images. The image's encyclopaedic value is also questionable, since Wikipedia is not a memorial. Cheers, Tewfik Talk 22:42, 14 August 2007 (UTC)
I support this notice as being relevant to anyone who has engaged in good-faith discussion with either User:Teens! or User:Clintonesque believing them to have been separate distinct editors. It is impossible to understand consensus here without being aware of past sockpuppetry. Italia vivi 20:22, 28 August 2007 (UTC)
He identified the Hezbollah defense during the Israel-Hezbollah July 2006 War not as classic guerilla tactics but as a defensive "belt" which he calls the " Tabouleh" Line. These were linked and fortified defensive positions integrated with the terrain and sited for mutual support. He had previously explored that concept in a paper written during the Cold War. [1] Lang has also applied an analytical criterion to determine who won the conflict:
"A basic lesson of history is that one must win on the battlefield to dictate the peace. A proof of winning on the battlefield has always been possession of that battlefield when the shooting stops. Those who remain on the field are just about always believed to have been victorious. Those who leave the field are believed to be the defeated." [2]
He agrees with news reports that Hezbollah is building a new "Tabouleh" line north of the Litani River on high ground just outside the UNIFIL separation zone. [28]Godspeed John Glenn! Will 15:28, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
When looking at a winner or looser in a war one must look at the objectives placed by both parties at the begining or before the war. Israel's objectives where clear from the start. Destroy Hezbollah, return of captured soldiers, placement of Nato forces in south Lebanon, reaching Litani river, and these objectives go watered down as the battle became fierce. Hezbollah's only objective was to make the war costly to Israel in terms of lives lost. It is clear who was able to achieve the objectives set out at the begining of the war. Therefore, I think the most reasonable statement would be that HA is widely believed to have won the war, but some observers say it was a draw. Abufijli 10:47, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
Hello guys
The result of this war is clearly a political win of Hezbollah, I guess everyboy agree that... And, one year after the facts, we can admit it was a military draw- Israel couldn't totally destroy Hezbollah but severly injuried it- ... Whether you have several credible evidences (that excludes sources from Hezbollah, Israeli government, US current governement, islamist etc...) against these facts, please discuss with me on my talk. I will follow the fundamental principle of wikipedia : Assume good faith; remember that this rule "does not require that editors continue to assume good faith in the presence of evidence to the contrary." Mrpouetpouet 17:50, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
The discussion on the
background has been fizzling out, so I'm relaunching because the current version is still inaccurate but we haven't reached any consensus on change. This is the last message I posted on the issue, copied from above.
Sorry about my delay in re-engaging in this discussion. From what I can see the argument over the refugees doesn't seem to have advanced significantly. The problem with their absense remains. To mention the presence of the PLO without including the refugees aswell is misleading. The refugee camps provided the base and the flow of recruits for the PLO, and as such were as significant as the presence of the leadership itself. George's simile on a match and gasoline is a good one. The present version of events is inadequate because it struggles with more than an incomplete version of events, the absense of this information creates an inaccurate impression, it suggest that it was simply the PLO, and not an actual Palestinian population, that was in Lebanon. This gives the reader a dangerously false idea of the situation in Lebanon at the time. The complementary problem that Israel's perspective is given in describing its attack on Lebanon, but the Palestinian perspective in attacking Israel is not given. Tewfik's main argument is that there were many other factors equally relavent to the PLO's strength. But there weren't, certainly not in terms of the PLO's support base. Co-operation of groups like Druze, Shiites or Sunnis with the PLO was far more opportunistic, complex and peripheral. The PLO would almost certainly have been able to establish itself in Lebanon without any other group allying itself with them, but its highly unlikely they would have in the absense of the refugees. Though I know you dipute this, two sources I have provided do re-affirm this greater importance. Nwe 15:41, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
A devils' adovcate could say the following: "the root of instability of Lebanon is, of course, the failure to return the Palestinian refugees to their homes per UN resolutions. Saddam was selectively fried for alleged failure to comply with UN resolutions but Israel ignores them with impunity. Likewise the present nuclear Iran crisis. One country is armed to the teeth with undeclared nukes but has laid down the marker that the Persians will not be allowed to have a peaceful program that gives them a military 'capability.' The unspoken hypocrisy is deafening." I don't know what kind of response could be made to that advocacy. But that is the background. A perceived hypocrisy. Treating "resisters" to occupation as enemies of Europe and the U.S. as well as the occupying power. Thus Hamas and HA are enemies of the U.S. Godspeed John Glenn! Will 02:00, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
At present the background mentions PLO attacks against Israel, Syrian, Black September and the Lebanese Civil War. To include all this and not the tremendous component of the Palestinian refugees is absurd. Nwe 14:58, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
No response for a week, I'm going to have to see what I can do on my own. Nwe 16:41, 15 August 2007 (UTC)
"Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, in response to attacks from Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) militants expelled from Jordan eleven years earlier, and after failing to stem the attacks with a previous invasion in 1978. It successfully expelled the PLO from Lebanon, and withdrew to a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, held with the aid of proxy militants in the South Lebanon Army (SLA). In 1985, a Lebanese Shi'a milita calling itself Hezbollah declared an armed struggle to end the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory. On May 25, 2000, following the collapse of the SLA and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces, Israeli troops withdrew to their side of the UN designated border, six weeks earlier than planned. However, citing Israeli control of the disputed Shebaa farms region, and the incarceration of Lebanese prisoners in Israel, Hezbollah continued its attacks. In 2004, Hezbollah sucessfully used the tactic of seizing Israeli soldiers as leverage for a prisoner exchange."
Sorry for my delay in getting back to this. Tewfik's current main assertion is that reference to Palestinian refugees is too indirect. The MERIA and certainly the BBC sources which I have provided dispute this and, as George has pointed out, there are several other equally or even more indirect facts mentioned in the background. George's above suggestion for cutting down on all indirect information is viable, but I think that in an article like this a fairly substantial background could be useful to people, so it would be more ideal to maintain the current indirect info mentioned above, and to add an equally relevant reference to the refugees and perhaps a few other matters. Nwe 15:54, 5 September 2007 (UTC)
I think regarding this article that it's important that although Hezbollah was by far the largest militia organization, and took the most part in the conflict, that even in Lebanon they (and other groups) are collectively known as the 'resistance'. As the article indicates this loose coalition includes the LCP, Amal and the PFLP-GC, and enjoyed great popular support not just as a partisan shia resistance by a national one, I think this deserves more recognition in this article. If I can quote the article linked in this wiki file:
" Despite persistent attempts to cast Hezbollah as an isolated "terrorist organization" of Shi'ite Muslims, the majority of the Lebanese population - including Christians and Sunni Muslims - have thrown their support behind the group. In one recent local survey, 87% of the population was reported to be supporting Hezbollah, including four out of every five Christians and Druze and nine out of every 10 Sunni Muslims.
But while most Lebanese acknowledge Hezbollah's leading role in fighting Israel, what many Lebanese consistently refer to as the "national resistance" is a broad coalition that includes virtually all of Lebanon's most important political forces, including Amal, the other main Shi'ite movement, the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), other left groups and liberal democrats - and even the right-wing Free Patriotic Movement of General Michel Aoun.
"We have a joke that, in the average Lebanese family with seven children, four will be with Hezbollah, two will be with the communists and one will be with Amal - all of them with the resistance," says Khaled Hadadeh, secretary general of the LCP.
The LCP, a leftist secular party whose membership cuts across the confessional lines, has itself been very close to Hezbollah and fought alongside it in the frontlines in the south. According to Hadadeh, at least 12 LCP members and supporters died in the fighting. " —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.179.253.195 ( talk) 02:01, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
This is a very biased Zionist POV title, how can we change the title to something more neutral like the "2006 Israel-Lebanon war" or at least add the much accepted "2006 Israeli war on Lebanon"
"No the title = NPOV. You think that: "2006 Israeli war on Lebanon" is neutral ?? ^^ Mrpouetpouet 13:08, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
What about "Indecisive", or something with it? Flayer 17:48, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
What about "contested"?
Flayer 16:03, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
It's reasonably clear that the Result was a hizbollah victory. There are plenty of sources that show this. Even the Israeli public largely believes that they lost. Even dubya believes that Israel lost. That's why I like the wording "Widely (or Largely) considered a Hizbollah victory". Pocopocopocopoco 13:26, 11 September 2007 (UTC)
I agree with Pocopocopocopoco a note must be added to say that if the military victory is disputed (even if Tsahal miss its first goal destroying Hezbollah), Hezbollah obiously got a major political victory ! Of course Irraeli's supporters don't agree but it's an obvious fact most of the media and expert, even Israeli agree with that conclusion !! Do you think that the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Dan Halutz, announced his resignation after the war because he decided to leave the army to sell popocorn ! Guy let's respect the NPOV. I'm not Lebanese, I'm not Israeli, I would have prefer an Israeli victory on Hezbollah but facts are facts. If that war is not a failure none of them are ! Mrpouetpouet 13:19, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
Discuss. Pocopocopocopoco 01:26, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
YaLibnan is not all that stable as a cite. Nor is the Financial Times. But I was able to google it again. Just because you can't retrieve it again, doesn't mean, it wasn't there the first time. Ahh the problem with dead links. "US warns Turkey over Kurdish rebels By Guy Dinmore in Washington Published: April 29 2007 19:12 | Last updated: April 29 2007 19:12 As Turkey ponders a military incursion into northern Iraq to attack Kurdish rebel bases just beyond its border, the US has begun warning Ankara to learn a lesson from what some officials in Washington are starting to call Israel’s “strategic de-feat” in Lebanon under similar circumstances last summer. When a ceasefire brokered by the United Nations took effect in Lebanon last August, President George W. Bush – who had backed Israel in the month-long war against Hizbollah – declared: “Hizbollah attacked Israel. Hizbollah started the crisis, and Hizbollah suffered a defeat in this crisis”. But recently, in its effort to persuade Turkey not to attack Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq, the Bush administration has been presenting in private a different assessment of Israel’s experience. In lobbying Turkey to stay its hand, US officials have described Israel’s war against the Shia militant group as a “strategic defeat” that failed to achieve Israel’s military goals, brought widespread international condemnation upon it, and destroyed the “myth of the invincibility of the Israeli army”. US warns Turkey over Kurdish rebelsGodspeed John Glenn! Will 16:41, 20 September 2007 (UTC)Of course the Kurdish Press picked up the story [32] I also saw it at debka.comGodspeed John Glenn! Will 16:53, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
It's my belief everybody loses in a war, but that's not encyclopediac. HA says they won. A lot of the IDF generals say they lost. The Israeli politicians say they won. Who to believe? Credibility is the guide. Even the Israeli public gives Nasrallah high marks for authenticity. "The participants of the poll were asked who gave them a sense of certainty regarding the continuance of the war, and who was most authentic. The results were unequivocal: The Israeli public chose Nasrallah's speeches as giving it both." Poll: Israelis believed Nasrallah over PeretzGodspeed John Glenn! Will 19:50, 20 September 2007 (UTC).
It seems to me that there is a clear consensus that Israel lost. However, If this means that Hizbullah won (and if Hizbullah won at all) is still disputed. I there for propose that the current "victory disputed" be replaced with "Hizbullah victory disputed", thus leaving no doubt whose victory is disputed. Any comments? Objections? Rami R 21:10, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
IMO, "Hizbullah victory disputed" implies that it is unclear if Hizbullah won, but it is clear that Israel lost (or at least didn't win). "Hizbullah victory (disputed)" implies that it is clear that Hizbullah won (and Israel lost), but certain "quacks" dispute it. Again IMO. Rami R 08:03, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
As part of the WikiProject Good Articles, we're doing sweeps to go over all of the current GAs and see if they still meet the GA criteria. I'm specifically going over all of the "Conflicts, battles and military exercises" articles. I believe the article currently meets the criteria and should remain listed as a Good article. Two things that should be fixed:
Other then this, the article still meets the GA criteria. Editors of the article should seriously consider taking the article to WP:FAC. I'd recommend getting a peer review and copyedit first, and make sure to have all of the inline citation templates consistently formatted. By the way, you might want to archive this talk page as well, it's starting to get a little long. At this point, good job, and I have edited the article history to reflect this review. Regards, Nehrams2020 22:46, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
By way of analogy no one would dispute the fact the U.S. Senator Larry Craig said he was not "gay." Although many would dispute the contents of his statement whether he was indeed "gay." Likewise the BBC and another source, inter alia, have clearly stated that Arab Israelie citizens say that Israel sites its military installations close to Arab population centers. The siting may or may not be true. Becuase of the heavy military censorship, it my be neigh impossible to verify or report out the verification, but it is irrefutable that the assertion of the siting has been made. Yet User: Tewfik has deleted the following reference twice.
Setting aside the truth content of the statement. It is irrefutable that it was made by former MK Bishara. If you believe in balance a neutral point of view then it should be in there. That's why I put the Israeli problematic allegation about HA hiding rockets among civilians above side by side for comparison. Now moving beyond the bare allegation and going to its truth content b/c it was raised. Jonathan Cook has this to say about it, which is irrelevant except to perhaps to help some editors discover their extreme POV. "As a first-hand observer of the fighting from Israel's side of the border last year, I noted on several occasions that Israel had built many of its permanent military installations, including weapons factories and army camps, and set up temporary artillery positions next to -- and in some cases inside -- civilian communities in the north of Israel." Further Cook says about HA rockets hidden among civilians (which were used to justify bombing civilian targets). This is the problematic statement I mentioned above. "
NPOV means BALANCE. If you put in Israeli allegations, then you put in counterbalancing allegations. Israel with its guided precise munitions pounded Lebanese infrastructure flat with overwhelmingly civilian casualties. Peres in previous operations had disclosed the reason- to make the civilians flee north to put psycological pressure on the government (while bombing the roads-see Grapes of Wrath). HA with its relatively unguided munitions inflicted mostly military casualties with some civilian deaths. Former MK Bishara who had to flee for his life. Nazareth Israeli resident Cook explain what he saw with his own eyes and what HA was aiming at. Because of the Israeli military censorship, that is as as good an accounting as you are going to get, period. I can spend half a day googling and probably find six more sources. Why should I have to? To meet Tewfik's objection about single sourcing, I found another one. How hi is the bar set? It keeps getting raised.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 13:49, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
IT was obvious no news report would corroborate this topic or get past the military censors but human rights watch. Now that is anoter matter. Israel’s Obligations to Take Precautions against the Effects of Attacks. And it's a fair report. Castigating both sides. There you go Lorek. That's another synonym for NPOV- fair.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 14:16, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
Cpme on. Addressing Tewfik, Not concerned about the technical conclusions of the report but the facts that escape the military censors. The facts support the allegations that military installations are placed indiscriminately next to Arab and it appears artillery fired from Arab as well as Jewish communities in one identified case in the middle of a town street. This "mingling" is what HA was accused of. It also appears he the editor is determined not to give Bashar any airing. Facts from the report.
^When Human Rights Watch on July 23 visited the Jewish village of Zarit, located some 750 meters from the border, we watched the IDF firing 155mm shells from 109 howitzer cannons parked on a residential street. The same day, we observed an artillery platoon firing into Lebanon from atop a hill just beyond a residential area of northern Kiryat Shmona (population 22,100). Col. Kuperstein, in charge of the IDF’s Department of Physical Protection, denied that the IDF placed artillery batteries next to or in civilian neighborhoods, claiming that they were all placed in open places. But when asked about the artillery unit Human Rights Watch had seen firing from a street in Zarit, Col. Kuperstein replied, “I think we could call it an open space. It’s a village on the northern border.”
I wouldn't have made a big point about this, but i had seen the same point made many times. At least in connection with Haifa where HA asked the Arab residents to watch out (or move out) for rockets falling short on their way to the military harbor. Thanks for separating the different stages. First stage, a charge or allegation is made. Anybody can make an allegation. An allegation is like a pregnancy. To become real, it has to be delivered. If delivered, then it becomes a fact. Facts, even if they exist, may or may not support a conclusion. It is indisputable that the allegation of co-mingling of artillery, as well as proximity of military assets, to civilians was made. that's the allegation. That's all that one sentence in the article says and for balance and fairness it definitely needs to be in there. Moving beyond that there is a factual basis for it in the corroboration by Cook and the HW report. Moving beyond that, do the facts support that it constituted a "human shield?" That is a matter of conscious design and intent and reasonable people can disagree on that. Certainly all combatants would prefer their opponents to stand in the open away from all civilians and give them a clear shot at them. In the best light to the IDF, they have never had to worry much about the opponents "Air Force." This may explain why they shot their cannons from a street in a Jewish town. Not good practice, shooting from a civilian area. And if HA was shooting rockets from a populated town, they would have been likewise condemned. Praying for Peace to break out.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 14:40, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
We don't need to have a novel in the factbox about who won nor write one trying to decide that. What may happen is a non-consensus outcome will get put in and then the article will get protected in that state. We can agree that the subject of the outcome is as disputed and contested as the outcome itself. Let's just put DISPUTED or CONTESTED and move one.Godspeed John Glenn! Will 11:39, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
My introduction to wikipedia was the Juan Cole page which was protected iMHO in a defamatory state for what seemed like months. csloat has a funny line from that era on his user page. "the people in charge of Wikipedia have closed the entrance and opened a discussion on her who does not seem that she is going to arrive nowhere." --google translate. Godspeed John Glenn! Will 15:37, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
Loathe am I to make major changes to the article, but I think the length of the article is unwieldy. For me, the reviews of the conflict and 'post conflict events' are the longest sections; perhaps we could merge the two and create a separate article for them? Compacting these sections, summary style, would cut about 30 references and a good few KB of text. From a quick check, the article prose is 8,300 words long, 53kB, and the whole article is 122kb. It lies in the middle of the 'to long' guidelines for size, so it isn't an urgent split, but one that should be considered. Iorek 00:41, 24 September 2007 (UTC)
I have noticed that in the infobox, it says that the two Israeli soldiers are POWs, while the Hezbollah soldiers are 'captured'. While you can stretch it and say that according to the Third Geneva Convention this would be true, you can also say quite rightly that the Hezbollah does not recognize the Third Geneva Convention, therefore the two Israeli soldiers are not POWs. Moreover, Israeli law insures that each foreign prisoner in an Israeli jail, whether a POW or not by definition, is treated as a POW according to the Third Geneva Convention. Therefore, if anything, the 13 Hezbollah soldiers should be POWs. However, for the sake of neutrality, I propose using the same term for both sides ('captured' would be fine, as it has no legal meaning AFAIK). -- Ynhockey ( Talk) 12:44, 27 September 2007 (UTC)
Throughout editing this article there has been much talk about its name. Long discussions have gone by, and much arguing. There is no other encyclopedia, newspaper, or reliable source that has published a summary of this war and named it "Lebanon War". Other alternatives, per the naming policy, have been proposed. The best thing to do now is to move the page back to what it was called originally, 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. Any other verifiable names that can be added with "...also known as...", making things easier, and this seems to be general and acceptable. This is to be done especially until a final decision is reached. It is in fact the original and properly refers to the article. This should not have any issues for now. Thank you. -- Shamir1 00:28, 18 October 2007 (UTC)
Well then we may as well keep the "War" part. I still feel as though Israel's name ought to be included. While all conventional operations took place in Lebanon, Israel was still involved and targets within Israel were still being fired at. I actually don't understand why the title was changed in the first place from Israel-Lebanon to simply Lebanon, because I haven't found too many sources which use this title outside of Israel. Why not 2006 Israel-Lebanon War, then? - 68.43.58.42 22:04, 21 October 2007 (UTC)
Good thinking, all of you. I will show a very complete list of other sources with summaries of the war and what they call it, and I like the brainstorming. Remember that war is a type of conflict. Every war is a conflict, although not necessarily vice versa. (It cannot be called Israel-Lebanon War because, aside from the fact that very few if any reputable sources at all use that term, it infers it was a war between Israel and Lebanon). Also remember that attacks were being made on Israeli soil. I will post the list soon. -- Shamir1 04:03, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
Personally I have long been in favor of 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War, and have other sources, very many scholary, to support it. However, my list of such sources are all in favor of that name. In the interest of a neutral discussion, I have only posted the above list, which is everything I found from news media, regardless of which name used. -- Shamir1 04:16, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
It seems worthy to note that according to google "2006 Lebanon war" is a more common name than "2006 Israel-Lebanon war": a simple google search of "2006 Lebanon war" yields 37,300 results, [44] while a search for "2006 Israel-Lebanon war" yields 10,200 results. [45] A google scholar search for "2006 Lebanon war" yields 28 results, [46] while a search for "2006 Israel-Lebanon war" yields 3 results. [47] Of course this is just google and doesn't bind wikipedia in anyway, but it does give an indication of the expressions popularity (as search terms). Rami R 11:23, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
LOL! Still going, Shamir. I like your tenacity. I'm not going to be arguing in this one, not after the previous marathon sessions. I'll just say that I still stand behind my support for this name (it is a geographic one that is not the best name, but a comprimise until the world decides what the real name is) because nothing has changed. There is still no common consensus, there are still many different names (most of which use war). Interesting to see you've shifted to Israel-Lebanon, though. I'm guessing that's because you think it will be easier to change it from that to Israel-Hezbollah. Have fun, because debating this endlessly sure isn't. Iorek 08:29, 25 October 2007 (UTC)