Posted on 07/22/2006 2:26:48 AM PDT by familyop
LEBANON'S army is ready to defend the country against any land invasion by Israel, Lebanon's defence minister told Al Arabiya television yesterday. Asked if the army would fight alongside Hezbollah against any land incursion by Israel, Defence Minister Elias al-Murr said: "Our constitutional duty is to defend Lebanon as a Lebanese army. This is our role.
"Any Lebanese citizens, Christians or Muslims, who want to defend their land are welcomed . . .
"Defending one's land can be done in several ways, either helping the army with food or water, giving psychological or political support. Because this is a war opened on all fronts.
"But for the resistance (Hezbollah) to enter the army and fight alongside the army, this is not an option, because the army can't fight like the resistance, nor can the resistance fight like the army."
The Defence Minister's remarks came as the Israeli army announced it has called up more reserve troops to augment its current forces in northern Israel, widening speculation that a major ground offensive against Lebanon has moved beyond the planning stage.
The army said the call-up was issued yesterday and several hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers were being told top gather at specific meeting points for deployment.
Meanwhile, a UN observation post just inside Lebanon was hit during fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants yesterday.
The Israeli army blamed Hezbollah rockets, but a UN officer said it an artillery shell fired by the Israeli Defence Force caused the damage.
A UN officer said an artillery shell fired by the IDF "impacted a direct hit on the UN position overlooking Zarit".
The post is part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The UN official said the facility was severely damaged but none of the Ghanaian troops inside the bomb shelters was injured.
Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded Lebanon for the 10th consecutive day yesterday after warning it could launch a full-scale ground invasion and ordered residents of the bomb-hit south to flee.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah issued a defiant new message that Israel's firepower was failing to dent his fundamentalist Shi'ite movement, and vowed he would release two captive Israeli soldiers only in a prisoner swap.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has demanded an immediate ceasefire, highlighting the human suffering.
"Both the deliberate targeting by Hezbollah of Israeli population centres with hundreds of indiscriminate weapons, and Israel's disproportionate use of force and collective punishment of the Lebanese people, must stop," Mr Annan said.
He proposed a blueprint calling for the deployment of a stabilisation force and for Hezbollah to release two Israeli soldiers whose capture 10 days ago unleashed the Israeli onslaught on its northern neighbour.
But Nasrallah warned: "Even the whole universe would not be able to secure the release of the two Israeli soldiers unless there are indirect negotiations and an exchange of prisoners."
"The truth is that the Lebaneze army supports the Hezzies. They will never remove the Hezzies."
Agree only I don't believe there is a Lebanese army that is free of Hezzies. It's a lie.
What I was getting at in my post is that I would expect a professional soldier to be sitting in those UN outposts - not rent-a-security-guard-from-Ghana.
Luckily for the Lebanese army, the Israelis don't take them too seriously. Otherwise, they would be being "prepped and softened" as we speak.
There are soldiers from many countries.
Exactly: that the Leb. PM and the Iraqui PM on the same day can foolishly call for Israel's ouster instead of the Islamofascists like Hamas, Al Q, Al Acquasa, Hez. is almost a policy of being ingrates to the two nations who actually are fighting for their freedom: the USA and Israel. When 6 years was not enough time for the vaunted Leb. army to dispatch Hez, Hamas and the other Islamo murderers, just why in God's name is Leb. carping now? I feel sorrier for the Leb. Christians who have been bashed over and over by the jihadists. But, apparently, Israel to the rescue and an idea of cooperation with the Leb. army to get rid of the real troublemakers, never has entered the minds of these two PM's.
Yeah. It seems like if they really care about Lebanon, they would fight against Hezbolla
"Why didn't they defend it from the terrorist mutts?"
Because they are the same, maybe.
All of them support....
Don't you realize they had a 15-year civil war? Were you asleep for the whole of the Cedar Revolution, where the citizens of Lebanon finally were able to evict the Syrian soldiers from their territory? Did you miss the bombings that assassinated many anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and journalists? Did you miss the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who took to the streets in support of democracy?
What are we missing here?
All of them support....
Don't you realize they had a 15-year civil war? Were you asleep for the whole of the Cedar Revolution, where the citizens of Lebanon finally were able to evict the Syrian soldiers from their territory? Did you miss the bombings that assassinated many anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and journalists? Did you miss the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who took to the streets in support of democracy?
What are we missing here?
There's a Mrs. Don-o? That's double teaming.
She's the NICE one. :-)
Because they were just finally recovering from a 15-year long civil war, and were not militarily or politically ready to engage in a long fight with Hezbollah. Coming on the heels of a bitter political debate about Syria's withdrawal, going after Hezbollah could very easily have shattered the fragile peace and led to another civil war.
...cept when the hesbos fire missles into Israel...thats more than ok
Must be. Rumor has it the other half is a work in progress.
It's a damn shame, but they made their bed, and it's time for them to lie in it.
Mark
The Title said, "Lebanese leaders..." Yes, Lebanon's leaders support the terrorists. Most recently, they disagreed with the proposed ceasefire and demanded that the UN occupy Shebaa Farms (which area belongs to Syria--not Lebanon).
“Israel still has not satisfied the UN's requirements to withdraw completely from Lebanon because of its illegal occupation of Shebaa Farms.”
FACT
Despite the UN ruling that Israel completed its withdrawal from southern Lebanon,22 Hizballah and the Lebanese government insist that Israel still holds Lebanese territory in eastern Mount Dov, a 100-square-mile, largely uninhabited patch called Shebaa Farms. This claim provides Hizballah with a pretext to continue its activities against Israel. Thus, after kidnapping three Israeli soldiers in that area, it announced that they were captured on Lebanese soil.
Israel, which has built a series of observation posts on strategic hilltops in the area, maintains that the land was captured from Syria; nevertheless, the Syrians have supported Hizballah's claim. According to the Washington Post, the controversy benefits each of the Arab parties. "For Syria, it means Hizballah can still be used to keep the Israelis off balance; for Lebanon, it provides a way to apply pressure over issues, like the return of Lebanese prisoners still held in Israeli jails. For Hezbollah, it is a reason to keep its militia armed and active, providing a ready new goal for a resistance movement that otherwise had nothing left to resist."23
In January 2005, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution condemning violence along the Israel-Lebanon border and reasserted that the Lebanese claim tothe Shebaa farms area is “not compatible with Security Council resolutions.”
Also the smart one
Thank you
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