[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

"If Lebanon turns in to a Hizbullah state, we will no longer place any
limitations on ourselves," Olmert said during a visit to the Home Front
Command headquarters in Ramle.

Bu today the Gaza Strip is already a Hamas state and....]

'We exercised restraint in Lebanon war'
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 19, 2008
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Israel avoided using heavy weaponry in the Second Lebanon War because it
fought against a terror group and not a country, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
said Tuesday, stressing however, that if Lebanon turns into a Hizbullah
state Israel will remove those limitations.

"In the Second Lebanon War we had much greater means and capabilities which
we avoided using since we fought against a terror organization and not a
country.

If Lebanon turns in to a Hizbullah state, we will no longer place any
limitations on ourselves," Olmert said during a visit to the Home Front
Command headquarters in Ramle.

On August 12, the Lebanese parliament overwhelmingly approved a national
unity cabinet after a five-day debate on a controversial government policy
that upholds Hizbullah's right to keep its weapons.

The vote was part of a deal reached in May by rival Lebanese factions in
Qatar that ended an 18-month political stalemate - Lebanon's worst crisis
since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.

The policy asserts "the right of Lebanon, its people, its army and the
resistance (Hizbullah) to liberate its land" occupied by Israel.

The deal also gave Hizbullah and its opposition allies veto power on major
decisions in the unity government.

Olmert added that in any future war with another country, Israel had a duty
to bring about a swift end to the battle at a minimum price and to make the
most out of its advantages.

The prime minister emphasized that the army did not seek to conquer
territory in order to hold on to it and that the Israel would focus on
preventing border breaches as well as quick and clear decision-making.

Olmert went on to say that if another war breaks out, the Home Front Command
would likely play a central role.

"Future wars, if, God forbid, they break out, will be different from past
wars, even the Second Lebanon War," he said. "There will no longer be a
situation in which the war is waged in distant battlefields while in big
cities, life continues as normal. The war will also reach cites and the
homes of Israeli citizens, and the aim of our enemies will be to hit the
home front."

"You in the Home Front command, have a vital part to play in the future
battlefield due to your role in taking care of the population," he
continued, adding that the more they were prepared and assisted local
authorities in their preparations, the easier it would be to do their jobs
in an emergency situation.

During the visit, Olmert was presented with an assessment of threats posed
to the home front and the available responses.

He also attended a Home Front Command exercise and was briefed on the
different means at its disposal.

At the end of his visit, Olmert thanked IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen.
Gabi Ashkenazi, OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan and the Home
Front Command soldiers for their assessments and hailed their willingnes to
implement the recommendations made following the 2006 war.