What is the strategic purpose of Israel destroying roads, especially in northern Lebanon? I thought most of the fighting was in the south, in order to create a buffer zone against further missile attacks. Can anybody illuminate my understanding on the matter?
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
Possibly so Hizbollah can't escape by going north and out of the country? Just an uneducated guess.
Posted by citadel (Member # 8367) on :
Also to block (or attempt to block) supply chains, especially for arms supplies.
Maybe they think this will put pressure on Lebanon's govt to reign in Hezbollah, as if they could.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Logistics, presumably. Hezbollah has to be getting ammunition and food from somewhere. Blown-up roads make it tougher to transport.
Mind you, I do think this might actually be the Israeli army thinking in terms of fighting another army. A guerrilla force like Hezbollah doesn't have anywhere near the amount of logistics that a real army does; no tanks, for one thing, meaning a saving of thousands of gallons of fuel. Against a regular army, bombing roads to the rear might be actually crippling; against Hezbollah, I suspect it'll be an annoyance at most.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by King of Men: Logistics, presumably. Hezbollah has to be getting ammunition and food from somewhere. Blown-up roads make it tougher to transport.
Mind you, I do think this might actually be the Israeli army thinking in terms of fighting another army. A guerrilla force like Hezbollah doesn't have anywhere near the amount of logistics that a real army does; no tanks, for one thing, meaning a saving of thousands of gallons of fuel. Against a regular army, bombing roads to the rear might be actually crippling; against Hezbollah, I suspect it'll be an annoyance at most.
Interesting, thanks KOM.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I find it ironic that the IDF bothers to drop leaflets to warn people. They've bombed or blockaed every way and passage into and out of Beirut, to say nothing of the rest of the country.
What's the point of warning them if you cut off every possible escape route?
"What? we killed civilians in that last round of bombings? Well we warned them to get out, I guess they must be terrorists or sympathizers themselves. Oh well."
I know it isn't really that blunt, but I also don't know what they expect when they do something like that. They can't claim the high ground for dropping leaflets if they besiege the city and remove all possibility for escape.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Missiles are coming into the war zone from somewhere. Most suspect Syria to the North. Destroy the roads and the missiles don't make it, hopefully.
I am also worried about the disconnect between Isreal's Psy-Ops and their Airforce. At least I hope it was a miscommunication, and not a plan of action. The Psy-Ops people spent a large amount of energy and time telling all Lebonese Civilians to leave their homes and head north. The Airforce was at the same time destroying any moving vehicles and many people on those roads.
That is the report I heard on the news. How accurate it is I do not know.
Posted by Edgehopper (Member # 1716) on :
The other reason to cut off transportation is to keep foreign fighters (read: Iranian and Syrian covert agents) from getting in or out. We know that Iranian elite soldiers are in Lebanon already helping Hezbollah set up missiles. There was also the danger that the kidnapped Israeli soldiers could be transported our of Lebanon at the start of the conflict.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Edgehopper: The other reason to cut off transportation is to keep foreign fighters (read: Iranian and Syrian covert agents) from getting in or out. We know that Iranian elite soldiers are in Lebanon already helping Hezbollah set up missiles. There was also the danger that the kidnapped Israeli soldiers could be transported our of Lebanon at the start of the conflict.
they only just blew up the roads in the north. I think if they were going to move the Israeli soldiers they would have had plenty of time, and would have done it by now.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I find it ironic that the IDF bothers to drop leaflets to warn people. They've bombed or blockaed every way and passage into and out of Beirut, to say nothing of the rest of the country.
And it's not like there was a day or three between the leafleting and the first attacks.
Oh, wait. There was.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote:Hezbolah
quote:Hizbollah
Whoever named Hezbollah wasn't thinking about how easy it would be for people to spell its name.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
At least, not in English.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
![[Wink]](wink.gif)