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The commission of inquiry into the events of military engagement in Lebanon in 2006 asserted that Israeli special forces were improperly deployed during the Second Lebanon War. In this article, Yair Ansbacher and Ron Schleifer explore why the Israeli special operations forces' (SOF) contribution to campaigns have been marginal, using the 2003 US deployment of SOF in Iraq as a point of comparison. They aim to identify and define the most effective deployment modes of modern SOF in war, and explain the changes that Israeli SOF must undergo to enhance future performance.◼ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How could a few hundred guerrillas force their will on a regional power? The struggle of Hezbollah against Israel is a striking case study of applying psychological warfare techniques, which can provide an explanation to the above question as well as to similar conflicts against radical Islam. The article outlines the structure of a PSYOP plan adopted by Hezbollah, details their messages to the selected target audiences, means of their delivery, and the unique doctrine developed and executed, which eventually led to Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]