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Europe to Provide Half the UN Troops for Lebanon
by Marc Burleigh
 European nations have pledged up to 7000 troops to form the core of a beefed-up peacekeeping mission in Lebanon capable of enforcing the fragile truce between Israel and Hizballah. The commitments account for more than half the extra soldiers needed to bring the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) up to a maximum mandated strength of 15,000, from its current count of 2000. French President Jacques Chirac said in Paris a level of 15,000 troops was "excessive" and it made "no sense" to have such a large contingent alongside the Lebanese army. (The Age-Australia)
Jewish Campus Groups Gear Up for Pro-Israel Push
by Eric Fingerhut and Sue Fishkoff
 Jewish organizations that work on American college campuses are preparing student leaders for what they expect will be a barrage of anti-Israel sentiment this fall. David Harris, the Israel on Campus Coalition's executive director, outlined a list of more than two dozen "great ideas for pro-Israel campus initiatives." The list is part of a publication titled Israel Under Attack: Resource Guide that the ICC made available on its Web site last Friday. (Washington Jewish Week)
Military Intelligence: Lebanese Army Deployed Alongside Hizballah
by Gideon Alon
 The head of IDF Military Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday, "The Lebanese army has deployed alongside Hizballah in southern Lebanon, but is not replacing it....Hizballah does not intend to leave southern Lebanon and to disarm itself. At most, it will be willing to stash away its arms. Syria and Hizballah were surprised by the determined stand made by the Israeli homefront during the course of the war," Yadlin said. "They expected Israel to sustain more casualties after they fired close to 4,000 missiles and expected greater chaos in Israeli society." (Ha'aretz)
See also IDF: Syria Will Try to Reclaim Golan Heights (Ynet News)
Israeli General Tells Troops of Weaknesses in War Effort
by Steven Erlanger
 In a letter to Israeli troops, their chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, acknowledged what the soldiers already knew: that there were considerable shortcomings in the military’s performance during the recent war in Lebanon. General Halutz, whose own performance is an issue in the fierce Israeli debate about the mixed outcome of the war, promised, “Questions will be answered professionally, and everyone will be investigated - from me down to the last soldier.” He acknowledged that “alongside the achievements, the fighting uncovered shortcomings in various areas - logistical, operational and command.” (New York Times)
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Bush: "Make Sure Hizballah Doesn't Rearm"
 President Bush said last week: "You have people launch attacks on a sovereign nation without the consent of the government in the country in which they are lodged. And that's why it's very important for all of us, those of us who are involved in this process, to get an international force into Lebanon to help the Lebanese government achieve some objectives. One is their ability to exert control over the entire country; secondly is to make sure that the Hizballah forces don't rearm, don't get arms from Syria or Iran through Syria, to be able to continue to wreak havoc in the region. The Lebanese government is eventually going to have to deal with Hizballah." (White House)
"Ahmadinejad Would Sacrifice Half of Iran to Wipe Out Israel"
by David Horovitz
 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, if he ever became the supreme decision maker in his country, would "sacrifice half of Iran for the sake of eliminating Israel," Giora Eiland, Israel's former national security adviser, said Thursday. At present, the ultimate decision-maker in Iran was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 67, but "if Ahmadinejad were to succeed him - and he has a reasonable chance of doing so - then we'd be in a highly dangerous situation." (Jerusalem Post)
Israel Shelves Plan to Pull Out of West Bank Settlements
by Doug Struck
 The Israeli government's plan to dismantle some Jewish settlements in the West Bank and redraw the country's borders is being shelved at least temporarily, a casualty of the war in Lebanon, Prime Minister Olmert told his ministers last weekend. Instead, the government must spend its money and efforts in northern Israel to repair the damage from the war and strengthen the area in case fighting breaks out again, Olmert said. The seizure of Israeli soldiers and the renewed fighting in Gaza - from which Israel withdrew last year - and in southern Lebanon - from which Israel withdrew in 2000 - have left the Israeli public with little appetite for additional pullouts. (Washington Post)
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