Hizbullah now seen in control of both Lebanese Army and government

[ErnstBlofeld]

GeoStrategy Direct:

 

Lebanon has returned to the exact same place it was in 2006: a Hizbullah-dominated government with Iranian proxies in control of much of the country; a helpless UN peacekeeping force scared to leave headquarters, and a jittery Israel worried over a U.S. arms embargo should war erupt.

 

The sole difference is that Hizbullah has now found a much better way to attack Israel — through the U.S.-trained and financed Lebanese Army.

 

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has long boasted of close ties with the Lebanese military.

 

Israel's military has determined that the Lebanese Army was being directed by the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah to destabilize the border with the Jewish state.

 

Military sources said Hizbullah has thoroughly infiltrated the 75,000-man Lebanese military, particularly in the area south of the Litani River. They said Hizbullah has placed members or supporters in key field Army positions, including those of brigade and battalion commanders.

 

"It is fair to say that the Lebanese military, particularly the Army, has become subservient to Hizbullah," a military source said.

 

The sources said Hizbullah was believed to have directed a Lebanese Army campaign to escalate tension along the Israeli border. The campaign was capped by a fierce gun battle in which six Lebanese and Israelis, including a senior Israeli commander, were killed on Aug. 3.

 

"It is our understanding that this was an initiated and provocative action by the Lebanese Army, which directed fire toward the force within Israeli territory without provocation from our side," Israeli Maj. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, head of Northern Command, said.

 

The Lebanese Army has long been deemed under Hizbullah influence. The sources said 60 percent of the Army is Shi'ite, and members of the Muslim sect were being promoted to such senior positions as battalion and brigade commanders.

 

"Today, if you see a Shi'ite in a senior position in the Army, it means he was approved by Hizbullah," the source said. "That means that he owes his career to Hizbullah."

 

Over the last 18 months, the sources said, the Hizbullah-dominated Lebanese Army has staged repeated provocations against Israel despite coordination with the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon. The sources cited the Lebanese Army's 9th Brigade, assigned to the border area and virtually all Shi'ite, many of whom come from Hizbullah-dominated villages.

 

The sources said Lebanese soldiers from the 9th Brigade routinely threaten to fire toward Israel Army patrols along the security fence. They said a Shi'ite company commander believed directed by Hizbullah ordered the sniper attack that killed an Israeli battalion commander and injured a platoon commander. Hizbullah was not reported to have been directly involved in the Aug. 3 battle.

 

"This brigade [9th] is led by a Hizbullah man, and he has been ordered to create tension," the source said.

 

In mid-June, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria met to discuss security cooperation and the formation of an intelligence exchange. Officials said the two-day session ended on June 15 in a pledge to develop a regional counter-insurgency network.

 

"There must be more meetings and cooperation to eliminate this phenomenon of terrorism," Lebanese Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said.

 

Officials said the meeting in Beirut sought to reconcile long-time tension between such neighbors as Jordan and Syria. The meeting also marked a rare effort at cooperation between the PA and Damascus.

 

The session was sponsored by the Arab League and led by the security chiefs of Jordan, Lebanon, PA and Syria. Some of the officials were representatives of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, including Brig. Gen. Jamal Alstom and Brig. Gen. Charles Atta.

 

The participants reviewed recommendations to enhance security cooperation among the Levant states. They included the appointment of a liasion officer who would coordinate CI efforts and facilitate intelligence exchange.

 

A panel of experts also proposed the establishment of a regional criminal and insurgency data base. The data base would include photographs and fingerprints of suspects and fugitives.

 

The four participants also discussed measures to enhance border security, particularly to halt the infiltration of insurgents. Lebanon and Syria host Hamas, Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad, all of which appear on the State Department list of terrorist organizations.

 

Syria was said to have been the most resistant to CI cooperation. Over the last decade, Syria has insisted on a definition of terrorism that ruled out crimes conducted in the name of national liberation.

 

At the meeting, however, Syria agreed to a proposed Arab League study to define terrorism. The study would also include the option of using Muslim clerics to counter Al Qaida-aligned doctrine.

 

"There must be greater participation in the fight against terrorism," Rifi said.

 

Meanwhile, Hizbullah has received its first solid-fuel rockets in what was termed a major enhancement of the Iranian-sponsored militia.

 

Western intelligence sources said Hizbullah has received the Iranian-origin Fateh-110. Fateh, with a range of more than 220 kilometers, marked the first solid-fuel rocket delivered to Hizbullah.

 

"This is probably the most dangerous rocket in the Hizbullah arsenal," an intelligence source who monitors Lebanon said.

 

The sources said Fateh-110 would enable Hizbullah to strike targets in much of Israel without being exposed to attacks by the Israel Air Force. They said the mobile solid-fuel weapons, delivered overland from Syria, would not require significant launch preparation and could be fired by remote control from bunkers in southern Lebanon.

 

The delivery of the single-stage Fateh-110 to Hizbullah was said to have taken Israel's military by surprise. The sources said Israel's intelligence community had monitored Iranian preparations to deliver the Russian-origin SA-3 surface-to-air missile to Hizbullah. They said Hizbullah squads were training on SA-2 and SA-3 batteries in Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases in Iran.

 

The sources said Israel and the United States have discussed the Fateh-110 delivery to Hizbullah. They said Israel relayed messages through the European Union and the United States that warned Hizbullah against firing the rocket.

 

 

[ErnstBlofeld]

Iranian version of the Fateh-110

[Valin]

sonofstrangelove

 

AP/Townhall: Lebanon opens account seeking donations for arms

 

Lebanon's defense minister says the government has opened an account at the central bank to receive donated funds to buy weapons for the country's military.

 

The call for donations is in protest of a decision by a U.S. congressman this month to suspend $100 million worth of American military aid over concerns the weapons could be turned on Israel and that the militant Hezbollah group may have influence over the Lebanese army.

 

(Snip)

[ErnstBlofeld]

sonofstrangelove

 

AP/Townhall: Lebanon opens account seeking donations for arms

 

Lebanon's defense minister says the government has opened an account at the central bank to receive donated funds to buy weapons for the country's military.

 

The call for donations is in protest of a decision by a U.S. congressman this month to suspend $100 million worth of American military aid over concerns the weapons could be turned on Israel and that the militant Hezbollah group may have influence over the Lebanese army.

 

(Snip)

 

Its against the law(under the Patriot Act) for U.S. citizens to support terror groups financially.If you give money to the "Lebanese Army" you would be indirectly supporting Hezbollah.Hezbollah(a terror group) has essentially taken over the Lebanese Army.I would expect and sincerly hope that U.S. law enforcement authorities and banks here in the United States to be cracking down on this.

[ErnstBlofeld]

These are estimates of Hezbollah Arsenal. The currently have 40,000 rockets pointed at Israel(everything from Katyusha to Scud missiles).There is strong evidence that the Lebanese Army shares intelligence with Hezbollah.

 

http://www.irantracker.org/military-activities/estimates-hezbollahs-arsenal