AP:

Just Google "Two IDF soldiers were in Lebanon" for more links.

Now some other background information:

Ha'aretz repoted the IDF planned this invasion over a year ago, english translation:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... IDEAST.TMP

UNIFIL reports for the last year the IDF has conducted "almost daily" incursions into Lebanon over the past year:
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/u ... round.html

It's pretty clear this whole thing was planned in advance, the IDF just waitied for an excuse. But why? By escalating tensions does Israel hope to bring the US in direct conflict with Iran? Or is it just another simple land/water grab for the Litani River?

Or is it about oil?
http://www.canadiancontent.net/en/jd/go ... /index.php

   

Clicked your last link....a bit biased no? I would expect that from a globalization site. After reading for a bit you get the impression the poor Hizbhulla is defending Lebanon with sticks and clumps of dried mud.

   

Thanks for the Forbes link, I had heard that the IDF members were in Lebanon when they were captured, but hadn't been able to find the story, as the news was suddenly swamped by thousands of other stories of IDF in Lebanon.

Anyway, I appreciate getting the record set straight on that.

   

Your felcom.

It needs further confirmation actually. Still it fits in with the other evidence of the IDF planning this a year ago, and the UN reports of "almost daily" IDF incursions.

Apparently now AP is reporting the IDF were captured on Lebanese soil too. Looks like this is fact. I wonder if the media will be broadcasting the correction? Probably not.

I hope you see this key lie of the initiaiting event of this catastrophe as a damning comment on the bias in our media. This isn't shading thre truth, this is outright lieing of a key event..

   

Just as Hezbollah has done. They just don't succeed. They try to, then get killed for their trouble

   

I have heard but can not confirm that the humvees that were a part of the ambush that were destroyed were found in Israel.

8 soldiers killed, 2 snatched in Hezbollah border attacks

Vehicles can be moved but at this point even if it is 100% true there is now no difference between this and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident as it is now a full blown war at this pont.

   

Both sides violate the borders and sides hezbollah isn't even supposed to exist anymore right?

well i'd tend to believe this ambush happened in israel there is the possiblity it was staged on the other side.

what does Israel have to gain though from staging a war?

oil? i can't see it....

internation criticism? hell yes... wait thats a loss not a gain

ummmmm territorry? Considering the Israeli plans involve withdrawl from most of Judea and Samaria I doubt that.

The only one with motive to launch the war is Hezbollah.

   

Staging? Don't think it was but at this point what does it matter? This has been on the books for a while. Olmert may have done it simply to make plain that under his watch Israel won't be a pushover. He may have bit off more than he bargained for as war is always a gamble but that's life in the middle east. I don't think that is going to buy Israel any friends than who they already have. If this bogs down Hezbollah will end up the victor but it will buy Olmert at least one election.

   

I think the war was well planned out in advanced in the contigency that hezbollah caused trouble that could seriously harm the israeli government and land Likud (stripped of its moderates) back in power.