Synopses & Reviews
The border abduction of two Israeli soldiers on the morning of July 12, 2006, set in motion what would eventually become known as the Second Lebanon War. After 34 days and more than 5,000 casualties--including those injured--a ceasefire was signed, and the geopolitics of the region were changed immeasurably. A #1 bestseller in Israel for months, 34 Days brilliantly reconstructs the progression of the war, from the soldiers' abduction through the hasty Israeli decision for an agressive response; the fateful discussions within the Cabinet and among senior Israeli command; and the heavy fighting in south Lebanon. It also delves into the raging diplomatic battles that took place in Paris, Washington, and New York, which would eventually end the war.
Synopsis
This is the first comprehensive account of the progression of the Second Lebanese War, from the border abduction of an Israeli soldier on the morning of July 12, 2006, through the hasty decision for an aggressive response; the fateful discussions in the Cabinet and the senior Israeli command; to the heavy fighting in south Lebanon and the raging diplomatic battles in Paris, Washington and New York.
The book answers the following questions: has Israel learned the right lessons from this failed military confrontation? What can Western countries learn from the IDF's failure against a fundamentalist Islamic terror organization? And what role did Iran and Syria play in this affair?
34 Days delivers the first blow-by-blow account of the Lebanon war and new insights for the future of the region and its effects on the West.
About the Author
Amos Harel is the Ha'aretz newspaper's military correspondent. Avi Issacharoff is the newspaper's Arab affairs correspondent. They collaborated previously on The Seventh War: The Real Story of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, a bestseller in Israel and France, and winner of the prestigious Tshetshik Prize from The Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University as the best military study in Israel in 2004. They live in Tel Aviv.
Table of Contents
Introduction * The Abduction * Barak Promises * Denial * A New Triumvirate * Going to War * The Ship Leaves Port * The Soldiers Can Wait * Bint J'Bayel, First Round * To Us, a Tie is the Same as Defeat * Floundering * The Cabinet * Casualty Count in Saluki * Not Defeat, Failure * Until the Next War