Well, I think the IDF did fail miserably at diminishing Hezbollah's attacks. They didn't seem to stop them at all, so that would be a failure. And they never seemed to be able to steamroll over Hezbollah - it was always a long ferocious fight, sometimes followed by a retreat dressed up as a business decision. They just didn't shine like we've come to expect from a first class modern military.
And it seems most of the world expects this kind of military to be able to limit the death blow to the warriors, while still being swift, efficient killers themselves - and I do too. People just aren't going to accept killing civilians in any conflict anymore. It doesn't matter which side has the legitimate complaint. This is a good thing.
I wish Israel would have gone in on the ground and made more of an effort to avoid civilian casualties. Perhaps persistant real-time video footage from various areas of fighting, so people can see Hezbollah in action. I have no doubt, we would see that ugly side of humanity, which would serve Israel's interest.
It really doesn't matter if Israel has a right to defend themselves in this manner or not. That's not going to stop the recruitment momentum in Lebanon started now by killing all of these innocent people. I believe if you're going to play war, you have to truly fight the war on all fronts, which includes global PR. This is the front that feeds the future of terrorism - the validation of their rhetoric.