Should The U.S. Continue Military Support To Lebanon?

C. Hart
American Thinker
08 August '10

When former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert signed a cease-fire agreement on August 14, 2006, after the Second Lebanon War, UN Security Resolution 1701 was adopted. Most Israelis were skeptical, because they did not believe that Lebanon's terror group, Hezb'allah would abide by the agreement, and they were right.

According to the minutes of the UN meeting that transpired, "the Security Council created a buffer zone free of ‘any armed personnel' -- both Hezb'allah militants and Israeli troops -- between the United Nations-drawn Blue Line in southern Lebanon and the Litani River (12 miles from the Israeli border), and called for both Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive solution to the crisis."

The text also emphasized, "the importance of the government of Lebanon extending its control over all Lebanese territory," and called upon that government, "to secure its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry, without its consent, of arms or related material." It further decided, "that all States shall take the necessary measures to prevent, ‘by their nationals or from their territories or using their flag vessels or aircraft', the sale or supply of arms and related material of all types, to any entity or individual in Lebanon." (http://www.un.org/)

The Power and Influence of Hezb'allah




Since then, Iran and Syria have sent truck loads of advanced weapons systems to Hezb'allah terrorists, which have been allowed in by the Lebanese government, and ignored by the Lebanese army. Thanks to the Iranians and Syrians, Hezb'allah has acquired 40-50,000 short, medium and long-range missiles which can now penetrate into the heart of the Jewish State, potentially hitting major Israeli population centers like Tel Aviv. In addition, Hezb'allah has reportedly received Scud missiles from Syria, and the terrorist group is being trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

What Israel had hoped for was that UNIFIL "peacekeepers" assigned to south Lebanon, would keep Hezb'allah from building up its forces and military arsenal south of the Litani River. Instead, Hezb'allah now has missiles and weapons stored in homes, schools, mosques and hospitals in 160 south Lebanese villages close to the Israeli border. They have at least 200 fighters at the entrances to those villages, and have prepared explosive devices and booby traps for the IDF, in the event of a future war. At least 20-30,000 militia fighters are part of Hezb'allah forces today.

UNIFIL has failed to prevent Hezb'allah from re-arming since the implementation of 1701 after the Second Lebanon War. Because the IDF has penetrated Hezb'allah intelligence operations, UNIFIL now knows that Hezb'allah has taken over homes within four kilometers of the Israeli border. The terrorist group is reportedly digging tunnels, building bunkers, and hoping to infiltrate IDF posts where they can kidnap or kill Israeli soldiers. Hezb'allah is also improving its command and control centers in south Lebanon.

(Read full article)

If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
.