Monday, September 25, 2006

Refusing to learn from history

Ynet News is reporting that Lebanese Defense Minister is seeking armaments to re-arm the Lebanese Army and effectively counter “Israeli” aggression:
Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said that the Lebanese army was in need of antiaircraft missiles and antitank missiles in order to defend his country "against the Israeli aggressiveness." He also asked for helicopters in order to transfer infantry corps to different areas, as well as armored vehicles, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat reported Monday morning.

The Lebanese minister referred to the speech delivered Friday by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah , who said that his organization was running out of patience in light of the Israeli violations in southern Lebanon . "When the Israeli enemy withdraws and the Lebanese army deploys along the Blue Line, the Lebanese army will respond to any Israeli violation, using all means, that's for sure," he said.

The Lebanese defense minister met Sunday with his Belgian counterpart Andre Flahaut, along with the Belgian ambassador to Lebanon. After the meeting, the Lebanese minister discussed his country's participation in UNIFIL and the aid Belgium plans to give the Lebanese army.

The Lebanese minister said: "There are two important aspects in the relations between Lebanon and Belgium. The first is the active part Lebanon takes by participating in UNIFIL forces, while the second one is the aid Lebanon is working on providing through the European Union and rearming the Lebanese army with modern means."
If various Lebanese administrations had not allowed the PLO to use Lebanon as a staging ground for attacks on Israel, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon would not have happened. If the Lebanese Administrations had disarmed Hezbollah, this summer’s invasion would not have happened.

If the Lebanese government was really serious about routing "Israeli aggression" they should take the mote out of their own eye and disarm Hezbollah which would leave them with a winning hand in a win-win scenario. No Israeli aggression and they get to keep and utilize Hezbollah’s allegedly substantial arsenal that Nasrallah brags about.

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