>I think the real goal is to destroy Hezbollah's stockpile of missiles, as many as 10,000 according to some sources:
>
>http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/07/18/hezbollah_arsenal_may_be_substantial/

I agree that that is what Israel is doing. The Hezbollah rockets have no real value against military targets since they are so inaccurate. The rocket's only value is to terrorize Israeli population centres.

>If the Lebanese government would have shut down Hezbollah, the Israelis wouldn't have to.

I think it was a mistake for Israel to take Hezbollah's bait and expand the war. It is clear that Hezbollah is more popular in Lebanon during times of war than times of peace. So it is in their best interest to ignite warfare.

If Israel would have limited its response to recovering the soldier, I think they would have more support. Expanding this incident into an operation to disarm an opponent is seen as opportunistic.

Then again, what would any other country do with an hostile arsenal on its border?