Months after the war, I'll ask again: How is this a victory for Hezbollah?

The Israeli border is peaceful for the first time since Israel pulled out of South Lebanon in 2000. Ask the people who live there who won. From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

But the bitter debate in Israel over the war erupted before the last soldiers had returned, with critics slamming the army's perceived disorganization and the country's failure to defeat Hezbollah or get back the two captives. The government's popularity plummeted, one senior officer has already stepped down, and the army and the government are investigating the handling of the war.

But Zarit residents see Hezbollah's flags gone, and its nearby base destroyed, along with many of its fortifications.

"Instead of Hezbollah, we see the Lebanese army and the U.N.," said Rachel Varkatt, 58. "We have a real sense of relief."

The mood is similarly upbeat at Manara, a kibbutz to the east. In May, its vulnerability was felt when a soldier in the kibbutz was wounded by a Hezbollah sniper.

The situation is different now. "I think the war critics are right in many ways, but they have created the impression that we lost," said Shabtai Mayo, the kibbutz's secretary general. "There were mistakes, but from here this looks very different from a defeat."