'Israel Wants to Annihilate Hezbollah but the Lebanese Militia is Resilient and Will Recover'

Israel wants to "decimate, annihilate, decapitate" Hezbollah and inflict "maximum possible damage": Talmiz Ahmad, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and UAE, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. .......................................... One of India’s foremost experts on West Asia and a former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE has said that Israel wants to “decimate, annihilate and decapitate” Hezbollah and inflict “maximum possible damage” on it. However, Talmiz Ahmad does not believe that Israel is “enthusiastic” about a ground offensive. He believes the statements made by the Israeli Army Chief, Lt. Gen. Halevi, are a form of posturing and cannot be taken at face value. In a 33-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Talmiz Ahmad argues that Israel’s intention is to inflict damage on Lebanese civilians to such an extent that they turn against Hezbollah and, therefore, push Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon, possibly north of the Litani River. Whilst accepting that the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies have inflicted a serious blow on Hezbollah, something their leader Hassan Nasrallah has admitted, Mr. Ahmad says Hezbollah is a resilient organization which will reform and re-establish its strength. He says Hezbollah has suffered a worse attack in 2006 and recovered and he believes it will recover its strength again. There are few people who know as much about the Middle East as Talmiz Ahmad. He is one of our foremost authorities on the subject. Rather than paraphrase what he has said, it’s far better that you should directly hear him speak by watching the interview. Mr. Ahmad is a powerful, convincing, passionate speaker with a great amount of detail and analysis. Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWtJey46brNr7qHQpN6KLQ/join