The growing consensus is that Israel lost the war with Hezbollah. As evidence, in part, people cite the celebratory talk on the part of Nasrallah, Syria’s Assad and Iran’s Ahmadinejad. But there’s nothing new about Arab potentates screaming victory no matter the circumstances. After the Syrian armed forces had been basically crushed to dust by Israel in 1967, soon-to-be Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad declared, “”O soldiers, 300,000 fighters of the People’s Army are with you in your battle, and behind them, 100 million Arabs. . . . Strike the enemy’s settlements, turn them into dust, pave the Arab roads with the skulls of Jews.” His army didn’t have 300,000 fighters, and 100 million Arabs weren’t behind them. This was typical of the stuff coming out during and after the Six Day War, by some reckonings the most definitive military defeat of the 20th century.

I’m not saying Israel won. I don’t think Israel won. But I don’t think it’s month-long campaign did no damage to Hezbollah. Of course Hezbollah is damaged. Whether it’s mildly damaged, somewhat damaged or deeply damaged we just don’t know yet. One thing we do know is that we should all be suspicious of claims that Hezbollah is in good shape, that it has the financial and technical means to rebuild southern Lebanon, and the like. One should presume that every word emerging from the mouths of these people as they try to advance their propaganda is a lie. They lie like they breathe.

David Twersky, one of the best commentators on Israel, has a very interesting take on this in the New York Sun. You should read all of it, but here’s a taste:

In an August 14, 2006 editorial, the Wall Street Journal reckons harshly that the war ends with a return to the “status quo ante.” This is handing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah an undeserved victory. Rather than sign off on the terrorist’s boasts of having achieved “strategic, historic victory” we should be reminding him of King Pyrrhus’ rueful comment following costly victories over the Romans: “One more such victory and I am lost.” I don’t take Mr. Nasrallah’s current boasts of victory to heart. Another “victory” like this one, and he is lost.