On Monday, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah told supporters in a televised address that Hezbollah had achieved a strategic and historic victory.

• Sheik Hassan Nasrallah: “Today we emerged from the battle with our heads high, and our enemy is the one who is defeated and who is now confused in his weakness and who has called for an investigation [into Lebanon war] etc.”

Here in the United States, President Bush rejected Nasrallah’s claim of victory.

• President Bush: “Hizbollah attacked Israel, Hizbollah started the crisis, and Hizbollah suffered a defeat in this crisis.”

And in Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to continue to pursue members of Hezbollah.

• Ehud Olmert: “The leaders of this terrorist organization have gone underground and are busy from there in spreading lies and in hiding the truth about the price that was claimed from them and from their men. On this issue I want to make it clear: these people will not get off free. They will not get off free. We will continue to pursue them everywhere and anytime. This is our moral obligation to ourselves and we have no intention to apologize or to ask permission from anyone for that.”