"Lebanese army blames lack of heavy weapons from US on long battle at refugee camp" by the Associated Press Tuesday, August 14, 2007
BEIRUT, Lebanon: The Lebanese military has been pounding the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp relentlessly for nearly three months, trying to wipe out Islamic militant fighters. But instead, it has given them a new form of protection: vast rubble in which to hide.
As a result, the grueling battle shows no sign of ending soon. Frustrated commanders say they could have won long ago if they had received more sophisticated weapons from the United States, the government's top ally.
Army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman has lamented the lack of sufficient weapons to fight the al-Qaida-inspired Fatah Islam militants holed up in the camp in northern Lebanon. He said the army was looking to other countries to buy weapons.
"We need weapons, conventional and advanced ammunition. We didn't get anything but promises and best wishes and some ammunition, but no equipment. It's as though they are telling us, 'die first and assistance will follow.' "
The United States dramatically increased its military aid to Lebanon as a show of support for the beleagered pro-Western prime minister, Fuad Saniora. When the battle at Nahr el-Bared began on May 20 — sparked when Fatah Islam militants attacked army troops near the base — Washington rushed supplies to Lebanon, particularly automatic rifle ammunition, helmets, body armor and night-vision goggles.
A U.S. Embassy official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press on the subject:
"What we have been providing is exactly what they have been requesting. We were able to fulfill their requests in a month, far faster than the delivery period for other countries, given the circumstances in the north."
Military experts say the army could have gained a decisive edge early on in the battle if it had sophisticated weapons such as helicopter-launched anti-tank missiles and counterbattery radar designed to track the trajectory of incoming artillery and mortar projectiles. The equipment would have allowed them to better pinpoint the fighters in the densely built refugee camp.
[Why would we want them to be successful against our own guys?]
Instead, the military has blasted the camp constantly with artillery and tank shells, levelling large swaths of it. The result is deadly fighting in a maze of cinderblock houses and tall buildings. Fatah Islam gunmen have shown great resilience, hitting army posts with mortar and grenades. Their snipers have also inflicted heavy losses on the soldiers.
Walid Sukariya, a retired Lebanese army brigadier said dozens of fighters who remain will be tough to uproot:
"They are now fortified in the rubble and below ground. The camp has been transformed into intertwined concrete blocks. The rubble is now protecting the fighters from shells, so it's very difficult for the troops to advance and route them out."
On Tuesday, Gazelle copters struck Fatah Islam hideouts in the camp, destroying an underground shelter, as tanks and artillery continued their bombardment. Next month, Lebanon's defense minister is expected to head to Moscow for talks, including on military aid — another pressure on Washington.
Sukariya said: "[Suleiman's comments] could be a message to America that if they don't give us weapons, we'll look for it elsewhere. If America refuses to give us, we have to get it, even if from the devil."
[Then what, gonna get the stuff from Iraq, er, Iran?]
"Lebanese military analyst: Hezbollah possess sophisticated weapons" by the Associated Press Wednesday, August 15, 2007
BEIRUT, Lebanon: Hezbollah possesses sophisticated weapons that could be used to target Israel, a retired Lebanese army general said Wednesday, a day after the militant group's leader promised that Israel would face a "big surprise" if it invaded Lebanon.
In a speech marking the year anniversary of the cease-fire that ended last's summer's Israel-Hezbollah war, the Shiite Muslim group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, warned Israel against striking Lebanon.
Nasrallah told a mass rally late Tuesday in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that was heavily bombed by Israeli warplanes during the 34-day war:
"Oh Zionists, if you think of launching a war on Lebanon, and I don't advise to do it. ... I promise you a big surprise that could change the fate of war and the fate of the region."
His comments have not been independently confirmed, and the number and type of weapons Hezbollah are not known. The U.N.-brokered cease-fire that ended the war a year ago demands that Hezbollah disarm and prohibits the group from receiving arms shipments. But the guerrillas have refused to lay down their weapons, saying the arms were needed to defend Lebanon against Israeli threats.
Retired Lebanese army Gen. Elias Hanna said Wednesday he believes Nasrallah's speech shows that Hezbollah possesses thousands of advanced anti-aircraft missiles:
"Israel has air superiority. So Hezbollah must act to deny Israel this superiority by using advanced anti-aircraft missiles. In addition to Hezbollah's possession of long-range missiles, there is a possibility that Hezbollah may have some sleeper cells inside Israel that could be activated in the event of war."
He also warned that Hezbollah could have sleeper cells abroad, though the militant group has denied this allegation.
[Who the fuck is this guy, an Israeli agent?]
In Israel, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said while there has been an improvement in security situation on Israel's northern border, concerns still remain:
"We are concerned, however, as to continued attempts of Hezbollah to rearm. Specifically, we are concerned that there is a flow of illicit weapons from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah in direct violation of the U.N. resolution, and we believe the international community should act against countries who by continuing to supply weaponry to Hezbollah are acting to undermine a U.N. security council resolution."
[This just proves that Israel runs the U.N., and there will be more below.
Question: What country has violated the most U.N. resolutions?
Answer: the shitstinking state of Israel!!!
Israeli Cabinet Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer also said he recommended taking Nasrallah's comments seriously, and told Israel's Army Radio:
"Nasrallah has never lied. He is cocky, he is arrogant, but at least from our experience with him, to my regret, what he has said, he has done. And when he says 'I have 20,000 missiles' I believe him."
The war erupted on July 12, 2006, when Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the border into Israel and attacked an Israeli patrol... More than 1,000 Lebanese and 159 Israelis were killed in the war."
Do you see the CONVENTIONAL LIE getting REPEATED and REPEATED?
Meanwhile, here is a real-time update for you.
Let's see if the shit AmeriKan MSM picks up the story for tomorrow:
"Helicopters Bomb Underground Bunkers at Nahr al-Bared" by Michael Bluhm/Lebanon Daily Star August 17, 2007
"BEIRUT: Heavy fighting resumed between the Lebanese Army and Fatah al-Islam on Thursday at the Nahr al-BaredPalestinian refugee camp in North Lebanon, while the US Embassy rejected army commander General Michel Suleiman's statement that the US had given the military only "promises and best wishes.
Soldiers and militants fought intense battles from the early morning, although by the afternoon the clashes had become intermittent, an army source told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity. The army did not suffer any casualties on Thursday.
In previous days the army had attacked exclusively from the air, bombing suspected underground bunkers from helicopters. Two helicopters dropped four bombs targeting bunkers Thursday morning, while troops also continued clearing land mines.
Israeli warplanes hovered above Nahr al-Bared at about 11 a.m. at medium altitude and then flew out to sea, said a NNA report, but the army source said the military did not have any knowledge of the incident.
[There goes ISRAEL VIOLATING U.N. RESOLUTIONS again! And NO PEEP!]
"All official requests by the Lebanese government have been fulfilled or are currently being considered for fulfillment. What they need right now is what we're providing them. It's important to note the speed [with which] these requests have been fulfilled. We've been very cognizant of the urgent need in Lebanon and have been responding accordingly. Our overall spending has definitely skyrocketed, much as a result of what's been going on recently."
[Course, it's not like Americans needed that money for anything, right?]
The spokesman, however, would neither confirm nor deny the statement of a former Lebanese Army general that the US followed a policy of holding back top-shelf weaponry from Lebanon because of fears the arms could be used against Israel.
[Oh, I get the complaints now. But shit, that's our policy in the region.
Just ask Saudi! 'Cause of them, Israel got $30 BILLION more!]
Retired General Elias Hanna said US wishes to arm Lebanon and boost Premier Fouad Siniora were tempered by one question:
"If they want to help and they want to give arms, would [the arms] wind up in the hands of Hizbullah? For 15 years, why didn't Syria give Lebanon anything? Why are the Iranians not helping [in Nahr al-Bared]? Why is Hizbullah not helping? Everybody wants you to be weak. Everybody wants you to stay weak. Lebanon is still a buffer state [and] is still the battlefield of the region. Lebanon will never be the same Lebanon we knew in the past."
[So why did ISRAEL flatten it?]
Better weapons certainly would have made a difference at Nahr al-Bared, but that has only become clear in hindsight - a lack of weapons did not slow the army as much as Fatah al-Islam's unexpected strength and the army's inexperience in this type of battle.
[That's 'cause we armed those guys, too!!!
And these guys are going to protect Lebanon from Israel?
Better keep Hezbollah strong!]
This final phase of the battle... will take at least two more weeks, Hanna said."[So that's when the MSM will be getting around to covering this then, huh?
It's like, if it ain't an election or a reporter dead, these guys won't cover it.
Unless it's some Israeli car bomb.]
