Israel: After the War, a Political Earthquake

Israelis take very seriously the admonition that during the life-and-death times of warfare, criticism of the government and the military must wait until the guns have gone quiet. This time, the effort to refrain from second-guessing proved particularly challenging. That's because the results proved frustrating, painful and frightening in the 34-day war against Hezbollah.

The rumbles of a political earthquake are now following the conflict that destroyed Israel's aura of invincibility. Now that the soldiers are returning home, the shakeup will begin and the careers of respected politicians and military men will be changed forever.

This conflict lasted longer than any Israel had fought since 1948, when the armies of five Arab countries attacked the just-founded state. Instead of an assortment of armed forces from various countries, this war across the Lebanon-Israel border pitted the Israel Defense Force (IDF) against a militia of Islamic militants, albeit one that was thoroughly armed and trained by Iran. This time, instead of a sound and quick defeat, as the one the IDF scored in 1967 when it pulverized the combined military forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq in six days, the war took more than a month and did not bring a clear Israeli victory.