It is true that hezbollah cannot be destroyed. Neither can Al Queda, nor Hamas.

Bombs are never, ever going to win this kind of a war. It is so frustrating that those in power are unable to see this very simple fact.

A terrorist movement is based around a set of ideologies. Contrary to what first world government would have you believe, Al Qaeda for instance, is not a massive terrorist network with extensive communications facilities.

It is a series of cells. They are generally utterly independent of one another, though if one is very lucky they may be able to get a hold of some funding. That's about it.

These cells are created by frustrated muslims who are venting their anger against the west. You can destroy as many as you like, but they're going to keep popping up. You can't stop that. What's worse, when the first world reacts with force, it only increases the support base for these cells, and the likelihood of more cropping up.

The western reaction is so incredibly stupid. Hezbollah can never be destroyed. Certainly not like this.

HEZBOLLAH is active in providing social assistance to the population.

Is this remeniscent of the rise of Islam ? If so, what could we expect AFTER they have achieved power or preeminence. ?

Yes, it IS very similar to the actities of Mohamed and the Muslims during the MEDINA phase of its growth. Mohamed and his rag tag band of Muslims fled there from Mecca when it became clear that the Meccans were out to 'get' him in a terminal way.

He grew stronger in Medina, and finally attacked Mecca, executed key leaders, and thus began the violent upsurge and expansion of this false and misleading faith.

Once Mecca was under control, various 'ethnic cleansings' of Jews were carried out, various murders (described AS "Murders" in the Islamic Hadith) of specific 'annoying' individuals, and the theft of all property and land of Jews especially.

With the Jews gone or subdued and taxed into economic oblivion, Mohamed set about conquering the other Arab Tribes, many of whom embraced Islam as it was the only way of preventing annihilation.

Then, it was the Byzanties turn at the Battle of Yarmuk. Then Egypts turn, Syria, Israel... and much of north Africa.

While Hezbollah cannot be destroyed, just as Islam cannot, we of the Non Muslim world had better be prepared not for 'if' but 'when' these people seek to overcome us and impose the infrastructure of their faith through legislation.

They were stopped only in TWO places, which were pivotal 'macro-important' historical events.

Tours in 732 by Charles the Hammer, with a well trained disciplined army.

Vienna in 1683 by Count Sobieski. 70,000 Poles and Viennese against 138,000 Ottomans. Of striking interest here, is that PROTESTANT Christians actually aided the Ottomans, due to the oppressive 'Counter Reformation' policy of Catholic Leopold the 1st against them.

Had they won, protestant Christianity would have been obliterated under Islam, even though they were promised the 'State of Vienna' if they won. It is unthinkable that the Muslims would suddenly change their policy of 'Islamification' by Tax and social pressure on these Protestants.

ETERNAL VIGILANCE, politically,socially,spiritually.

The problem for all of us – Jews, Arabs, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, Australians, Americans etc. is that war anywhere, perpetrated by whoever, will not end under the current economic and political framework of the world i.e. the nation state capitalist system. And before you scream hysterically – it is undeniable that all nations, whether “democratic”, autocratic, theocratic, or so-called “communist”, participate in and are bound by capitalism’s internal laws. The undeniable fact is that all of the horrors of the 20th Century and the new century have occurred within the capitalist framework.

While the majority of the wealth in the world is concentrated in the hands of a minority who wage war amongst each other (with others’ lives) either surreptitiously or openly, for resources and markets, there will never be peace.

Let’s face facts - human beings have the resources and technology to feed, clothe, house, educate and provide medicine and clean water to every person in the world – but we don’t. Do you think that if every person in the world had these things anyone would bother strapping explosives to their bodies? I don’t think so. Yet we don’t ensure that they have them and then claim that “market forces” and “competition” will do the trick. So we all have to “compete” for abundant resources which are controlled by the few. It is irrational and ludicrous. No wonder some take up arms. If Hezbollah is destroyed, something new will replace it.

Israel’s attack on Lebanon was not a response to the capture of the Israeli soldiers, it has been in the making for a long time, and has the full backing and assistance of the US ruling elite which intends to reorganize the Middle East in its own interests. Hence Rice’s comments about “the birth pangs of the new Middle East” during Israel’s carpet bombing of the Lebanese people. All opposition to US domination of the region is to be wiped out – with Israel’s help. If it wasn’t the US it would be someone else.

What we should be doing is changing the system.

Boaz_David,

Why not let facts today rather than musings of yesteryear guide your comments. The fundamentalist Islamic world NOT the Islamic world have made it very clear that they do not want to engage the West. In fact they want nothing to do with the West and are upset because the West continues to prop up dictatorships and interfere in the internal politics of Islamic countries in the region.

So it’s not a matter of the Islamists coming to "get you" it’s the West through its own self interest (oil) that cannot leave the Islamic world alone.

In the West’s, particularly the failed leaders President Bush of the USA and Prime Minister Blair of Britain, and their arrogance and total ignorance have chosen to interfere yet again in the Islamic world and have dramatically changed the balance of power in the region through their misguided, foolish and illegal invasion of Iraq.

Iran’s power was at one time balanced with a secular regime (Sunni) a sworn enemy in Iraq on one border and Afghanistan on another border: Taliban (Sunni). Now we have an arc of “democratic” Islamists (Shiite) in their place with extremely close ties to Iran.

And now with the cynical and appalling behavior of Israel and the USA in Lebanon they have boosted the influence of Iran beyond anything that it aspired even in the days of the Shah and that is why Hizballah is considered the winner of this last battle with Israel.

The Lebanese paid a high price in civilians slaughtered and infrastructure destroyed and for what? So that Israel can live to fight another day in their paranoid and myopic vision of the Middle East. It is absolutely disgusting.

Onya redneck, what a diatribe of misunderstanding from a misguided man.

Or woman. The people who were nazis, people proved to have put Jews into gas chambers were imported to Australia as migrants from 1945 onward while the Jews who were refugees from the nazis were ordered back to Germany by the whole "civilized world" in 1938.

The claim that nazis could turn up on boats now is ludicrous because there are no nazis now and even if they did turn up now they would have to be automatically excluded from refugee status because of the refugee convention.

In 2002 Australia continued on it's shameful treatment of Jewish refugees when the department decided that even though a family of Russian Jews were refugees they should have gone to Israel.

The High court ruled 7-0 that the idea was utterly ludicrous and they rightly got to stay. Kirby pointed out that the convention was written because of what the world allowed to happen to the Jews.

Now redneck before you claim I should be ashamed of myself go and read what I wrote instead of just mouthing off rot.

I have learnt a great deal about Hizbollah since the Israeli attack and invasion. It is apparent that there is a great need for the Lebanese to defend themsleves, given the war crimes committed against them by the repugnant Israeli military machine; it is the Israeli government, not Hizbollah that is the terrorist- which civilians had more "terror" to deal with, Israelis or Lebanese? I understand now that Hizbollah are part of the Lebanese government and are Lebanese people fighting in the resistance, as the French did against the Nazis.

The facts speak for themsleves; Hizbolla, Lebanese people, are helping the villagers rebuild; Israel has violated the ceasefire- again! and continues to destroy.

Only racists could continue to defend Israel's actions toward these persecuted people.

Time to move Israel to the US; it was a huge injustice and mistake in the first place. The US is bankrolling it and supplying weapons- cluster bombs included- to them; let the US have Israel if they supprt it so much- Texas would be good- let Bush see what good neighbours Israelis are!