I have been thinking that it is really not important for us to decide who won the recent war in Lebanon.
What is more important that we find out what went wrong over there so we avoid the mistakes that had been done.
This is not the final list. As more details emerged, we will learn more. Do not be aggrieved if the some of the lessons came from the other side.
Learning from the enemy is a virtue.
Lesson One.
One of the best investments for a country is an inclusive air defence system. Putting up such a system is not cheap especially for those like us, which lacked the technological and financial means.
Israel was able to control the way it fought the conflict, as Lebanon had no effective air defence.
From what I saw on TV, even the Lebanese Army had to rely on 50 calibre guns for air defence.
And most of these mobile AA guns, did not last very long if they happened to be in an area where the Israeli Army were operating.
The Israelis were not shy in shutting down these guns immediately once they were in the scene as what had happened during a commando raid near Tyre shortly before the cease fire was announced.
As far as I have checked, the Lebanese did not claim a single Israeli aircraft, not even a drone.
Unlike the Americans in Iraq, the Israeli aircraft were not limited to medium level altitude, for fear of Manpads.
Attack helicopters also flew in the daylight and unlike previously, from the TV clips, I saw, only a small numbers of flares were fired.
Did they knew that Manpads were not in abundance?
Anyhow, several Apaches crashed in the early August, due to mid-air collisions.
Night flying even with sophisticated aircraft still present risks especially in combat.
A lesson that our Army Air Wing should take to heart.
The other lesson is the vulnerability of MBTs to infantry ATGWs. Even ERAs can be defeated by modern missiles with tandem warheads in the hands of a trained & determined footsoldier.
Lets also not forget the Hanit incident.
Rgds