israel is about to expand its wars to a new level, one which has defeated them in the past, at which point we can only hope for their full defeat;

Israel has been warned and its leaders apparently have decided to ignore those warnings. Madness! I have trained and worked with Israelis — not a lot — and learned that many of their military and intelligence leadership excel in arrogance and hubris. When I conduct firearms training courses for US citizens, the single most important characteristic is attitude. I can teach knowledge and skills, but if the student has a know-it-all attitude, the instruction is a waste of time. That is Israel — bad attitude. And the poor attitude translates into lack of knowledge and limited skills and reckless risk taking.

A group of Washington Post reporters provided the latest update about Israeli intentions:

Top Israeli officials who met with a senior White House adviser warned that military action will be needed to allow thousands of residents to go back to their homes along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Amos Hochstein, who was in Israel on Monday to try to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, that Israel appreciated U.S. support but would ultimately “do what is necessary to safeguard its security and return the residents of the north securely to their homes,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

In an early Tuesday announcement, Israel’s security cabinet also said it updated its war objectives to include “returning the residents of the north securely to their homes,” signaling an expansion of official aims that originally focused on eliminating Hamas and returning the hostages taken on Oct. 7........more........