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Lebanese army no match for Israel, experts say
San Jose Mercury ^ | Fri, Jul. 21, 2006 | Drew Brown

Posted on 07/21/2006 9:38:25 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican

WASHINGTON - If Israel launches a massive offensive into southern Lebanon against Hezbollah guerrillas, Lebanon's small army, if it decides to fight, will be overpowered, analysts say.

While Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr has virtually ruled out joining forces with the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, he has stated that his army would resist an Israeli invasion and defend Lebanese soil.

"The Lebanese armed forces would get routed, and there's no chance that the Lebanese army would take control of southern Lebanon," said Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "They're too weak. That's why they've never taken on Hezbollah. They've never had the firepower to take on Hezbollah."

Formed at the end of World War II, the Lebanese army split along sectarian lines at the outset of the country's civil war in 1975 and was only reunited in 1990 from the various factions that had previously fought one another.

According to "Middle East Military Balance," an annual publication from the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Lebanese army has about 60,000 men. The country also has a small air force and an even smaller navy.

The army is split along five regional commands, with 11 mechanized infantry brigades, plus artillery, special forces, commando, logistics and medical units. It has about 350 tanks and 1,100 armored personnel carriers, most dating from Soviet-era and the Vietnam war. Its artillery consists of around 175 towed guns and howitzers ranging from 105 mm to 155 mm.

Those weapons would prove no match against modern Israeli tanks, artillery and other weapons, many of which are supplied by the United States and all of which are virtually state of the art.

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2006israelwar; duh; israel
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To: HitmanLV

The only problem with that, is that a big chunk of the Lebanese army is on the side of the bad guys.


41 posted on 07/22/2006 5:53:47 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Guns themselves are fairly robust; their chief enemies are rust and politicians) (NRA)
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To: MinorityRepublican
While Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr has virtually ruled out joining forces with the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, he has stated that his army would resist an Israeli invasion and defend Lebanese soil.

This POS was supposed to have cleaned up and eliminated Hezbollah pursuant agreements with Israel, he never tried. Now that the whirlwind has come home to roost, he is only showing complicity with the provocateurs who instigated the whole conflict.

Looks like this is a "democracy" not worth saving.

42 posted on 07/22/2006 6:35:42 AM PDT by Paul Ross (We cannot be for lawful ordinances and for an alien conspiracy at one and the same moment.-Cicero)
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To: esoxmagnum

the little guy just represents the doctrine of taking property and payments


43 posted on 07/22/2006 6:43:57 AM PDT by alrea
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To: Secret Agent Man

Lebanon does not have much of a military. I have known some who belonged to it. If Lebanese government decides to go with the Hizbollah, they will forever regret it. I forcast their doom, and I trust that they will not do it.
The Lebanese people need prayer too.

Lebanon is paying a price for following the path of the "least resistance" and allowing Hezbollah to launch a war from their territory. I pray that they can root out the Hezbollah, and the sooner the better for them.


44 posted on 07/22/2006 8:31:17 AM PDT by tessalu
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To: MinorityRepublican

'Master of the obvious' ping!!!


45 posted on 07/22/2006 10:48:27 AM PDT by gogogodzilla (I criticize everyone... and then breath some radioactive fire and stomp on things.)
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To: Walkingfeather
"If I were Israel I would drop leaflets that say to the lebanese: " This is your chance, we do not want to harm you, turn your guns on hezbolla and live, otherwise your children will be orphans" The choice is yours. "

They do it every time. So do we. We did it in Iraq. But we were even cleverer in Iraq. Not only did we exhort the troops not to fight, back in 2003, we also did another shocker.

We'd used national means to get the cell phone numbers of all Iraqi divsion commanders, most of whom speak English. Then -- get this -- one of our general officers called them. Just days before the war started. Can you imagine having a secret phone, and getting ready to fight the Americans, and having Tommy Franks give you a call and ask you not to fight, for the sake of your life and that of your men?

It worked. So many of the toughest Iraqi units surrended rather than fight.

The Israelis, in a scrape, are as good as we Yanks can field. They too will be doing all sorts of surreptitous things to get the Lebanese dudes to lay down their arms. Leaflets are mostly passe. There are more effective ways.

46 posted on 07/22/2006 11:29:32 AM PDT by tom h
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To: oolatec
"many of which are supplied by the United States"

"They never fail to sneak that in there in an efford to enrage the Muslim/anti-semitic masses, do they? "

It's also a Bush's fault line -- meaning, the Israelis would never be as warlike were it not for mean Republicans.

Follow that thread of course, and you'll find that most Israeli military hardware, of American origin, was sold during the Clinton Administration. But the geniuses at the fishwrap SJ Mercury won't go there because it will gore the reputation of the former Perjurer-in-Chief.

47 posted on 07/22/2006 11:32:29 AM PDT by tom h
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To: MinorityRepublican

As I type this, the Israeli Army is steamrolling over Lebanon right now and neither the Lebanese Army nor the Hezbollah "army" can offer up much resistance. The Israelis have American state-of-the-art technology and they are absolutely unbeatable and they will have their way.


48 posted on 07/22/2006 11:34:59 AM PDT by SamAdams76 (I am a big fan of urban sprawl but I wish there were more sidewalks)
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To: BipolarBob
What a life, bitching about being dominated by goat humping Hezbollah coward bitches while swatting flies, sweating in the twilight, listening to the shreaks of your children, knowing that the Israeli thunder is just beyond the horizon.
49 posted on 07/22/2006 8:16:24 PM PDT by Hilltop
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To: Hilltop

There, but for the Grace of God, go I.


50 posted on 07/22/2006 8:48:43 PM PDT by BipolarBob (Yes I backed over the vampire, but I swear I looked in my rearview mirror.)
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