Ground Attack Coming?

The Washington Times, relying on “[m]ilitary correspondents with access to senior military officials,” says that Israel has planned a four-stage offensive against Hezbollah that “presumably” will include “the movement of ground troops into Lebanon” as part of the final phases. But the ground attack is said to be contingent on progress in the bombing campaign:

If Israel’s main objectives — a halt in the firing of missiles into Israel and a Lebanese government agreement to displace Hezbollah from the border area — have not been achieved by the end of this week, ground troops will cross the border, according to the sources.

This and other reports emphasize Israel’s reluctance to have troops on the ground in Lebanon for any length of time, but I think experience suggests that aerial attacks alone are unlikely to achieve Israel’s objectives.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that last night, Israeli soldiers did cross over briefly into Lebanon to carry out an operation.

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