Hezbollah in passive voice

Soccer Dad
06 October '10

Many of us have noted that since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Hezbollah has rearmed in violation of UN Security Council resolution. I always wondered when the MSM would catch up with the story. Today the New York Times published, Stronger Hezbollah Emboldened for Fights Ahead, which is a pretty good title if you're working in Hezbollah's PR department. ("Hezbollah threatens Israel in violation of UN resolution" would have been accurate.)

After informing us how Hezbollah has built up the area with houses, weapons and a command infrastructure, the reporter, Thanassis Cambanis writes:

United Nations peacekeepers and the Lebanese Army now patrol the hilly, wooded border, and under the terms of the United Nations resolution that ended the war, Hezbollah was supposed to demilitarize the area between the Israeli border and the Litani River, a distance of about 18 miles.

But Hezbollah appears to have done just the opposite. Its operatives roam strategic towns, interrogating foreigners and outsiders. New residents have been recruited to the border, and Hezbollah officials say they have recruited scores of new fighters, by their own estimates either doubling or tripling their ranks.

As we know from August, those "peacekeepers" and "Lebanese" troops are working together with Hezbollah. But what struck me here was how the reporter writes that Hezbollah was "supposed to" act and "appears to have done just the opposite" of the UN Resolution. Is there are more passive way to describe a terrorist organization operating in defiance of international law?

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US finishes review, but holds on LAF funds remain

Matt Nash
Now Lebanon
19 September '10

The Obama administration completed an inter-agency review of funding for the Lebanese Armed Forces launched last month after several members of Congress expressed fear of collusion between the LAF and Hezbollah, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley announced Thursday during a press briefing in Washington.

Crowley, who has consistently defended US funding for the LAF since a deadly border clash between Lebanon’s army and the Israel Defense Forces on August 3, would not reveal details of the review’s findings, but said, “We are in the process of consultations with members of Congress regarding our findings. We’ll have more to say with that when the consultations are done.”

Two holds on $100 million in funding for the LAF approved in the 2010 US budget, however, are still in place. Matt Denis, a spokesman for Representative Nita Lowy – who heads a subcommittee on the House Committee on Appropriations and who placed one of the holds – told the Associated Press Thursday that Lowy “appreciates the administration’s efforts to keep appraised of findings, and the conversations will continue about the path forward, [however] no resolution on this matter was reached. Her hold remains in place.”

Also Thursday, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai reported that Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Howard Berman lifted his hold, placed the day before the August firefight. There is no news of lifting the hold on either Berman’s or the committee’s websites, and a source on Capitol Hill familiar with the issue, who spoke anonymously because he is not authorized to talk to the press, told NOW Lebanon via email that the Al-Rai report is “not true.”

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NY Times News Analysis, For Whatever It's Worth

Tamar Sternthal
CAMERA/Snapshots
23 August '10

One wonders if Robert F. Worth of the New York Times even read his own newspaper before he wrote this analysis, which appears today in the International Herald Tribune. He writes:

Earlier this month, Israeli soldiers were pruning a tree on their country's northern border when a firefight broke out with Lebanese soldiers across the fence, leaving one Israeli and four Lebanese dead.

The skirmish seems to have been accidental.

1) The "firefight broke out"? That is a pretty lame and euphemistic way of describing Lebanese firing on Israeli troops trimming a tree on their side of the border in a pre-coordinated move with the United Nations. In a news analysis in the supposed paper of record, you would hope for a tad more precision.

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Iranians try to start a border incident between Israel and Lebanon

Elders of Ziyon
18 August '10

From The Daily Star

The Lebanese Army in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) removed five trees on the border with Israel upon an Israeli request.

The trees were planted as part of an Iran-funded project to improve the landscape of the southern borders. The Israeli Army had requested that the five trees on the Fatima Gate be cut down, claiming that they touched the wire fence that separated the two borders.

UNIFIL was tasked with convincing the Lebanese troops to cut the trees, media reports said.

It sounds like a normal request by Israel and a normal response by Lebanon, the way things should be.

The more interesting part is where the trees came from. From Ya Libnan:

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HOW Not TO Finance An Army

Ghassan Karam
YaLibnan
14 August '10

After the incident that took place on August 3, 2010 between a small force of the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Defense Force at Adeisseh in Southern Lebanon Mr. Suleiman, the Lebanese President has been on a mission to finance the Lebanese army through personal contributions. These misguided efforts, although emotionally appealing, have been endorsed enthusiastically by many in Lebanon including Elias Murr, the Defense Minister, who declared yesterday, with pride, the opening of a special account at the Bank of Lebanon to receive such donations. The initial deposit was a miserly $650,000 that was raised over two weeks.

The above described incident has lead some members of the US congress and also some in the French parliament to request that the already approved military aid to Lebanon be suspended pending an accounting of the Adeisseh clash during which 2 Lebanese army personnel have died and one reporter from Al Akhbar newspaper in addition to the wounding of a reporter for Al Manar TV station. One Israeli Colonel was also shot dead apparently by a Lebanese army sniper. A transparent and thorough accounting of what led to this unfortunate incident has not yet been made public by the Lebanese army. What were the rules of engagement? Who issued the order to fire? Did UNIFIL inform the Lebanese army that the Israelis will be pruning a tree on their side of the border? How did the media know about the probability of friction at this particular point and at this specific time? A responsible and accountable democratic system of governance deserves to know precisely what happened especially since this incident could have ignited a very costly war indeed.

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Restraint or deterrence

Isi Leibler
Candidly Speaking from Jerusalem
11 August '10

A recent editorial in Haaretz reprimanded the IDF for cutting down a tree inside Israeli territory near the Lebanese border on the absurd grounds that the authorities should have been more restrained and sensitive to the political tension in Lebanon.

If this approach were adopted by our government, it would result in a total collapse of Israel’s deterrence. Rather than discouraging our enemies from conducting acts of aggression and terror out of fear of reprisal, we ourselves would become reluctant to take any defensive measures out of concern that they could be construed as aggressive acts or provocations by our hostile neighbors. In such a bizarre climate, we would be failing to carry out the minimal steps required to maintain the security of our borders and the welfare of our citizens.

A FEW days before the unprovoked attack by the Lebanese army, a grad rocket had been launched from the Gaza Strip which could easily have led to major loss of life in the heart of Ashkelon. Subsequently, missiles were launched on Eilat, again fortunately not resulting in Israeli casualties but killing an innocent Jordanian.

These terrorist attacks took place shortly after we agreed, under enormous pressure from the Obama administration, to participate in a UN investigation of May 31’s flotilla incident when Turkish Islamic extremists sought to break our legitimate naval blockade of Gaza.

Ironically, that took place simultaneously with widespread media coverage of classified documents released by WikiLeaks about the inadvertent killing of civilians by US and allied forces in Afghanistan.

Needless to say, there were no calls from UN Secretary General Ban Ki- Moon for an inquiry or any suggestion that the death of these innocent civilians were war crimes.

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Western Inaction Makes Another Israel-Lebanon War More Likely

Evelyn Gordon
Contentions/Commentary
09 August '10

After last Tuesday’s incident on the Israeli-Lebanese border, Western states hastened to call for calm and restraint on both sides. The implicit message was that the West sought to avoid another Israel-Lebanon war. Yet war is precisely where Western inaction is inexorably leading.

By Wednesday, UNIFIL had already announced its unequivocal findings: not only did the Lebanese shoot first, with no provocation, but the Israeli soldiers they targeted — killing one and seriously wounding another — were all on Israel’s side of the border. At no point did any Israelis stray, as Lebanon had claimed, into Lebanese territory. Moreover, the attackers were regular Lebanese Army soldiers, not Hezbollah terrorists for whom the government could disclaim responsibility.

But the border is unmarked at that point, lying some 70 meters north of the fence Israel built, and the Israelis were clearing vegetation between the fence and the border. So had Lebanon simply apologized and said it was an honest mistake — that its soldiers erroneously thought the Israelis were violating its sovereignty — there might have been justification for letting the incident slide.

But that isn’t what Beirut said. Instead, Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri announced that Lebanon doesn’t recognize the international border (the so-called Blue Line) at that point; it claims additional territory south of the line. In short, far from apologizing and promising to respect the Blue Line henceforth, Lebanon’s government announced that its policy is to ignore the international border wherever it disputes the UN demarcation.

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The Lebanese army August 3 attack on IDF soldiers

The Lebanese army August 3 attack on IDF soldiers located 120 meters inside Israeli territory may have been a local commander's decision, but was influenced by the army's belligerent attitude toward Israel. Hezbollah did not intervene in the incident but publicly sent Israel a deterrent message coupled with an implied warning.


Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
08 August '10

Overview

1. On August 3, Lebanese army forces exchanged fire for two hours with an IDF force engaged in tree-pruning activities inside Israeli territory. (UNIFIL determined that the activities were clearly carried out within Israel.) The incident began when the Lebanese army opened fire. An Israeli battalion commander was killed and a company commander was critically wounded. As a result, the incident deteriorated into an exchange of fire lasting about two hours. Three Lebanese soldiers and a civilian were killed and several civilians were wounded (among them a correspondent for Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV, who was intensively covering the incident).

2. The Lebanese shooting attack on the IDF soldiers was an unequivocal violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.1 So far it is not clear at what level of the Lebanese army the decision was made or the order to shoot was given. In our assessment the Lebanese army's supreme command is not interested in an outbreak of military hostilities with Israel. However, it can be assumed that even if the order to open fire was not given by the Lebanese supreme military command, it was influenced by the belligerent attitude of the Lebanese army (and its brigades deployed in south Lebanon) toward Israel, an attitude also expressed by the Lebanese media.

(See full report and photos)

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'Jihadiwood' and America's auto-immune disease

Melanie Phillips
The Spectator
08 August '10

As the days have passed, it has become ever clearer that the deadly ambush laid by the Lebanese army for the IDF, in which Israeli Lt Col Dov Harari was killed (his funeral is pictured here) along with three Lebanese soldiers and one Lebanese journalist, was a Hezbollah operation.

In the Washington Post, Israel’s ambassador to the US Michael Oren wrote:

Although the maintenance work was fully coordinated with the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, and the fatal shot was fired by the nominally independent Lebanese Armed Forces, Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, sent a television crew to film the ambush. He applauded the murder as a ‘heroic confrontation’ and threatened to ‘cut off the arm’ of Lebanon's enemies, ostensibly by firing his Iranian- and Syrian-supplied arsenal of more than 42,000 rockets at Israeli cities and towns.

It is hardly surprising that the ambush turns out to have been another staged performance from the Jihadiwood Production Company, since blogger Emet m’Tsiyon reports that the Lebanese ‘village’ of Adeissa, where the ambush took place, is not a functioning village at all but a Hezbollah military stronghold, consisting merely of

an elaborate system of bunkers and shooting platforms designed to look like houses...

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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.

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Just another week in the 62-year old siege of the Jewish state

Elder of Ziyon
06 August '10

It is worthwhile to step back and notice the events of the week:

A rocket was fired into Israel from Gaza, hitting a rehabilitation center. (Another attempted firing of a rocket exploded prematurely.)

Five or six rockets were fired from the Sinai towards Israel, killing a Jordanian.

And snipers from the Lebanese Army killed an Israeli officer and wounded another.

All of these attacks were unprovoked. All of them were intended to kill Israelis.

In other words, here was just another week when Israel was fired upon from all directions. Not a terribly atypical week, either.

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Lebanese claim order to shoot came "from the top" (updated)

U.N. peacekeepers in front of a picture
of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah,
with an Arabic writing:
"we are full of surprises," (h/t Suzanne)

Elder of Ziyon
06 August '10
Posted before Shabbat

From Naharnet:

The Lebanese army was instructed to open fire at Israeli troops in the tree-pruning operation that triggered a deadly clash between Israeli and Lebanese troops, Israel News reported.

It said that during a late Wednesday meeting between UNIFIL and representatives of the Lebanese and Israeli armies, Lebanese army officer Abdul Rahman Shaitli said soldiers who opened fire on Israeli troops Tuesday were following instructions.

"Soldiers are instructed to open fire. This is the army's decision," he was quoted as saying.

Al Manar, Hezbollah's station, said the same thing.

To Western ears, this is ironic: the Lebanese Army (and, by extension, the government of Lebanon) is essentially admitting that, in full view of UNIFIL, they planned to break the terms of UN 1701 and start what could have easily devolved into a war. This is hardly how one would expect a responsible army or government to act.

Yet there is reason to be skeptical about this claim.

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Ronen Bergman: Hezbollah and the Lebanon Dilemma

Ronen Bergman
Wall Street Journal
05 August '10
H/T Joseph Wouk

On Tuesday afternoon, several hours before a highly anticipated televised speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanese army snipers fired at an Israeli military detail that was trimming trees on the Israeli side of the border. The premeditated attack, which killed a colonel and left another officer severely wounded, came exactly four years since the end of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The question now is whether this incident could spark a chain reaction that results in another war.

Despite its overwhelming military might, Israel emerged badly bruised from its confrontation with the Shiite militia in 2006. Since then, the Jewish state has repeatedly threatened that any act of aggression on the Israel-Lebanon border would be met with a punishing response. It claimed it would hold the Lebanese government—in which Hezbollah is a key player—responsible, regardless of the identity of the perpetrators.

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Murder on the northern border

Fresnozionism.org
04 August '10

I’m sure that the family of Lt. Col. (res.) Dov Harari didn’t expect that he would not return from his annual stint of reserve duty.

Harari, 45 years old and from Netanya, was a battalion commander in the IDF Engineering Corps. Early this afternoon, he was supervising soldiers who were clearing brush next to the security fence near the Israel-Lebanon border along with Capt. Ezra Lakia, 30, from Kfar Harif. This is a routine activity, carried out entirely on the Israeli side of the border, and coordinated with UNIFIL peacekeepers.

Suddenly a Lebanese Army armored vehicle appeared on a nearby rise. Two snipers got out and opened fire directly at the officers. Lt. Col. Harari was hit in the head and killed, and Capt. Lakia was critically wounded in the chest (he was airlifted to Rambam Hospital in Haifa where he underwent surgery, in part to remove fragments from his heart; he has been reported in stable condition).

The Lebanese soldiers did not call out to the Israelis or fire warning shots. They shot to kill, in what can only be called an act of cold-blooded murder.

Israeli soldiers returned fire. Several Lebanese soldiers and a journalist were killed (we’ll get to the journalist later).

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UNIFIL to avoid looking for weapons in S. Lebanon where they are hidden

Dr. Aaron Lerner
IMRA
17 July '10

All patrols will be carried out in cooperation with the Lebanese army, UNIFIL will no longer use sniffer dogs, searches of homes will be carried out by Lebanese soldiers, and UNIFIL will avoid entering the homes and yards of the villagers in the south.

Southern Lebanon unstable as villagers turn on UN troops
UNIFIL has tried to end a series of clashes in previous few weeks during which Lebanese civilians grabbed weapons from soldiers, threw stones at them and blocked their route.
By Zvi Bar'el Haaretz Published 01:38 14.07.10
www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/southern-lebanon-unstable-as-villagers-turn-on-un-troops-1.301801

"I want to speak directly to you, without intermediaries, so there won't be misunderstandings or mistaken interpretations. As a peacekeeper, a soldier and a person who loves this nation very much ... please let me enter your lives for a minute and take a few minutes of your precious time." With these polite words, Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas, the commander of the UNIFIL forces in Lebanon, spoke to the Lebanese people, particularly those in the south, in an open letter in the Lebanese press.

He then asked the Lebanese to show understanding for the trouble that would likely be caused them by UNIFIL's activities. He said his forces "meant first and foremost to ensure your safety, and I promise you that there is no hidden agenda behind this activity." Cuevas explained that "the rotation of UNIFIL forces takes place every four to 12 months, so there is always a possibility that mistakes will be made, but these are only made with good intentions."

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