Tel-Chai Nation

If you're going to just suddenly grind to a halt, you will not be able to properly cleanse the enemy. But in a way, that's exactly what Ehud Olmert and Amir Peretz are doing by not expanding the offensive against the Hezbollah, even if they're calling up more reserve units:

Top Israeli Cabinet ministers on Thursday decided not to expand the country's Lebanon offensive, but ordered the call up of tens of thousands of reserve soldiers to boost the campaign, officials said.

During a meeting of the security Cabinet, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the goals of Israel's 16-day offensive are being met, participants of the meeting said. The ministers said the call up of three additional reserve divisions -- at least 30,000 soldiers -- was meant to refresh troops in Lebanon. But the huge size of the mobilization raised questions about the military's overall strategy.

"The draft is to prepare the force for possible developments as they have been presented to the Cabinet and also to freshen the forces as needed. Using the force will require another approval by the Cabinet," said a statement from prime minister's office after the Cabinet meeting.

Senior military commanders had been pushing for a wider campaign in Lebanon, but Defense Minister Amir Peretz favors limited action, military and government officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations with the press.

Peretz is worthless as a defense minister, but then, you can be sure that Olmert isn't far behind. By slowing down, they're only enabling public opinion to turn against them more.

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Labels: Lebanon