The conflict between Israel and the Hisbollah in Lebanon may influence U.S. plans for dealing with Iran. Israel’s difficulty in destroying the Hisbollah in Lebanon shows that a similar strategy, should it be used against Iran, could fail.

On August 31 the deadline for Iran to give up its nuclear program runs out. Should Iran refuse to end work on its nuclear capabilities, action may be taken to force them to stop. The wording of the U.N. Security Council resolution does not rule out the use of military force, which the Bush administration has been openly considering. The use of air strikes, similar to those flown by Israel in Lebanon, will surely make up a large part of any military action. An Invasion by ground troops is not considered an option.

The fact that the massive Israeli air raids were not able to destroy Hisbollah’s ability to hold their position and continue to fire hundreds of rockets into Israel raise doubts that a similar strategy against Iran will be effective. In this case the war in Lebanon may have prevented a military strike on Iran, should the Bush administration reconsider.
A more extensive discourse on this theory was written by Seymour M. Hersh in the New Yorker, which I came across reading Poplicks blog.

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