Stratfor predicts ‘major assault on Lebanon’

Worrying assessment of the crisis on the Lebanese-Israeli border from the US Stratfor service:

The Israel Defense Forces is preparing for a major, sustained assault into southern Lebanon to eliminate the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The assault will extend at least to the Litani River — the first natural barrier, roughly 20 miles into Lebanon — and possibly all the way to areas south of Beirut. The advance might have been intended for July 16, when the reservists of the Israeli Northern Command who were just activated will have had 72 hours to spin up. However, since rockets fired from Lebanon hit Israel’s port city of Haifa on July 13, Israel’s 7th Armored, Golani and Barak Brigades — some of the elite and most decorated units of the regular Israeli army — might push ahead as far as the Litani and let the reservists catch up later. (Stratfor)

I have found Stratfor to be useful in the past, at least in reflecting US thinking about Iraq. If the above link doesn’t work, you can find read some of their articles via a search at Google News.