Olmert Wants to Shake Up Region; Israeli Leader Seizes Opportunity to Push Hezbollah Away From Border

Summary

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JERUSALEM (AP) - Ehud Olmert's effort to free three captured soldiers has become a broad campaign to alter the strategic balance of the Middle East - an enormous gamble for an Israeli prime minister facing growing domestic pressure to hit Islamic militants hard.

Israel's assault on Lebanon, which has killed 73 people and turned much of the country into a battlefield, could backfire if it becomes a protracted quagmire, provokes war with Syria or exposes Israelis to increasingly deadly attacks.

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Extract

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Olmert Wants to Shake Up Region; Israeli Leader Seizes Opportunity to Push Hezbollah Away From Border

But Olmert likely sees Israel's simultaneous offensives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon as a way to strike a decisive blow not only against Hezbollah ...

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