Third story from the top on the Washington Times front page:
"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," he told Lebanon's New TV station.
Is the Sheik feeling a little heat, maybe?
Since the Aug. 14 cease-fire, Sheik Nasrallah has declared a victory in the war, and he has become a hero throughout the Arab and Muslim world.
But yesterday's admission of a serious miscalculation reflects a need to shore up domestic support for Hezbollah and deflect criticism for starting the war, Israeli analysts said.
"It means that [Sheik Nasrallah] needs to settle the score in the Lebanese domestic arena," said Oded Granot, the Middle East affairs commentator on Israel's public-run Channel 1 news station. "[He] needs to provide welfare for the residents of the south, and he needs to rehabilitate his standing."
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