Publisher's Synopsis
During the summer of 2006, Israel conducted a thirty-four day war against Hezbollah in response to the abduction of two Israeli soldiers. Israeli forces caused significant damage to Hezbollah military capabilities and Lebanese infrastructure, yet Israel failed to achieve any of its primary objectives. The kidnapped soldiers were not released and Israel's deterrence posture was weakened due to regional perceptions of Israeli defeat. Hezbollah survived to fight another day, and their rocket attacks on northern Israel were never suppressed. The United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force has proved ineffective at disarming Hezbollah's fighters. During the fight, Israeli ground forces were bogged down by a well prepared enemy and, while their air strikes caused great damage in Lebanon, they failed to coerce the population to stop supporting Hezbollah. Hezbollah was able to use the damage to evoke widespread condemnation of Israel by successfully manipulating the media.
