Lebanese and Israeli Civilians Clear Losers as Cease-Fire Ends Israel's Offensive

Interview with Stephen Zunes, Middle East editor with Foreign Policy in Focus, conducted by Scott Harris

A fragile U.N.-brokered cease-fire took hold across Lebanon and Israel on Aug. 13 after 34 days of war, which killed an estimated 1,100 Lebanese civilians, 41 Israeli civilians and 118 Israeli soldiers. The numbers of Hezbollah fighters killed ranges from an Israeli report of 400 while Hezbollah's says only 68 died in battle. Both Israel and Hezbollah claimed victory, but Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert clearly did not achieve his stated goal of destroying Hezbollah's military capability.

Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah proclaimed in a post-ceasefire TV address, "We emerged from the battle with our heads high, and our enemy is the one who is defeated." The conflict, which devastated Lebanon's infrastructure, enhanced Hezbollah's status as heros in the Arab street and further damaged the standing of Israel and the US across much of the rest of the world.

It could take several weeks to implement the U.N. cease-fire agreement which calls for the deployment of an international force of 15,000 U.N peacekeepers, along with 15,000 Lebanese army troops in southern Lebanon. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Stephen Zunes, Middle East editor with Foreign Policy in Focus, who assesses the winners and losers in the aftermath of the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Visit Foreign Policy in Focus at www.fpif.org. Zunes is a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco and author of the book, "Tinder Box: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism."

Related links:

* United for Peace and Justice at www.unitedforpeace.org * U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation at www.endtheoccupation.org * Institute for Policy Studies at www.ips.org

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