LEBANESE ARMY WILL NOT STOP HEZBOLLAH

SOME ARGUE THAT IF LEBANON DEPLOYS ITS ARMY TO SOUTHERN LEBANON, IT WILL "CONTROL" HEZBOLLAH AND ALLOW ISRAEL TO WITHDRAW. FAT CHANCE. THE LEBANESE ARMY IS A USELESS APPENDAGE OF HEZBOLLAH.

Lebanon Cannot Tackle Hizballah on Its Own - Editorial
The Lebanese army has proved incapable of stopping Hizballah, backed by Syria and Iran, from creating a state within a state. Beirut on its own cannot be trusted with neutralizing the militia. For these reasons, Israel should not withdraw from Lebanon until an international force with teeth is in position. The ineffective UN interim monitoring force, UNIFIL, should be disbanded. (Telegraph-UK)

See also U.S. Aid Unlikely to Turn Around Lebanese Army Capabilities - Ed Blanche
The U.S. has offered to help train and equip the Lebanese Army so it can extend government control over Lebanon as part of a cease-fire agreement to end the current conflict between Hizballah and Israel. Yet the Lebanese Army, which has operated primarily as an internal security force since the 1975-90 civil war, is incapable of undertaking any peacekeeping mission unless Hizballah is completely disarmed. (Jane's Defense Weekly)

An Assertive Lebanon? A Tough International Force? Give Me a Break - Marcus Gee
Even if the international force does come together, it is not clear whether it would solve the problem. How would even a muscular international force handle a still armed, still militant Hizballah? Remember that Hizballah made its name by opposing a previous foreign intervention, killing 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French paratroopers in truck-bomb attacks in Beirut in 1983. The hard truth is, this conflict grinds on because no one wants to take on Hizballah - not the government of Lebanon, not the rest of the Arab world, and certainly not its sponsors in Syria and Iran. As usual, that dirty job is left to Israel. (Toronto Globe and Mail)

Iran's Rocket Route to Israel - Geoff Elliott
In late January, 12 trucks crossed the Syrian border into Lebanon. When they were stopped at a checkpoint, the Lebanese Armed Forces found the trucks were brimming with ammunition and weapons, including Katyusha rockets that have been raining down on Israel since July 12. The convoy was waved on and traveled unhindered to its final destination: Hizballah terrorists in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese army said the ammunition belonged to the "resistance," which the Lebanese government considers to be legitimate. It's this uninterrupted flow of weapons, mostly made in Iran, that has allowed Hizballah to stockpile some 12,000 Katyusha rockets and fire more than 3,000 rockets into Israel over the past 29 days. (The Australian)