LONDON -- It was not meant to be like this. The plan, and the promise by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, was that the operation would be over swiftly, the Hezbollah forces with their missiles would be surrounded, rooted out and crushed, the kidnapped Israeli soldiers would be returned, and southern Lebanon would be cleared of terrorists and cease to be a threat to the frightened inhabitants of northern Israel.

To the dismay of the Israeli public, and the surprise of a large flock of defense experts accustomed to high-speed Israeli victories over weak Arab neighbors, the Hezbollah guerrillas continued raining down rockets on Israeli towns for weeks. Worse still, armed with their ultra modern, armor-piercing and laser-directed missiles, they were able to knock out Israel's invincible tanks and then to melt into the hills and villages of southern Lebanon. They proved to be an elusive enemy that all the bombs and reconnaissance from the air could never somehow pin down. None of Olmert's promises have been delivered.

As one weary Israeli soldier observed, this was an enemy that seemed to combine all the advantages and flexibility of an irregular underground fighting force, operating in its own familiar territory, with the technology and firepower of a modern and fully equipped army.