i think israel should make a strategic decision with regard to the future of the current conflict.

in my opinion there are two options:

• Cease Fire together with International involvement
• Significantly escalating the military operation

the current status of air campaign together with a small ground force going from village to village is not effective.

i personally think that the path should be a Cease Fire. the Lebanese government and Hezbollah did not expect this type of reaction from Israel. they now understand that there is a heavy price to pay for these types of provocations. the International community should step in with peace keeping forces working together with the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon, and with the clear goal of disarming Hezbollah. at the same time the G8 should drive pressure on Syria and Iran to stop their support of Hezbollah.

there is a good chance this will diplomatic effort will not work. and Israel will have to enter into a military conflict sooner or later (in the meantime it will have to make it clear that efforts to arm the Hezbollah by Syria and Iran will not be tolerated).  but i believe it is worth giving it a chance.

the other option of escalating the military operation means recruiting the reserves, a long battle, casualties, the inevitable loss of civilian life, economic impact, etc. and the ever true reality that it is much easier to start a war than to end it, with many surprises in the middle.

so if there is a chance to avoid all the mess why not give it a try?

one of the answers may be that people like wars. men mostly. it is an adrenaline rush. it is exciting. a sense of purpose. soldiers in their eagerness for action seem to spend more time dreaming of glory and comradeship than thinking about the chances of getting killed or wounded. with so many armed conflicts these days and throughout history you just can't avoid the conclusion that people actually like going to war.