While the US and France are reportedly close to an agreement again on a UN resolution that would aim to end hostilities between Israel and Hizballah, Al-Manar reminds us again that such a ceasefire, with Hizballah still functional, will be seized upon in jihadist propaganda as a sign of a foundering State of Israel. That will only embolden mujahedin everywhere, but especially in Iran, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza. From YNet News: “Hizbullah declares victory”
Hizbullah did not wait for the official UN Security Council announcement on a ceasefire and launched its own media campaign declaring it had ‘won the war against Israel.’
In the latest video aired on Al-Manar TV the terror group says it “defeated the invincible army” and “July-August 2006: Legend shattered.”
The new video clips show thousands of supporters waving Hizbullah and Lebanon flags.
These clips, which are aired between regularly-scheduled programs, include excerpts from Hassan Nasrallah speeches in which he had promised victory; similar videos were aired during the IDF”s withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese government is preparing for war’s conclusion; Prime Minister Fouad Siniora met with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabi Berri to discuss the deployment of the army in the south. Some reports said a Hizbullah member also took part in
the meeting, but Berri’s associates denied the reports.
And while the Lebanese government is “preparing for the war’s conclusion,” Haaretz provides a revealing look at the actual state of the Lebanese army, and its prospects for controlling Hizballah in “The Lebanese Army / 60,000 soldiers not really looking for work”:
The Lebanese Army is not trained to serve as a professional military force. It functions as a fine and efficient police force and knows how to disperse demonstrations. It can even detain hashish growers in the Bekaa and fire ancient cannons at
planes, but “if required to wage war on the ground, it is best to invite another army,” explains a Lebanese military commentator.
“The Lebanese Army can operate inside the nation only if all political forces allow it to operate. If it becomes necessary to contend with armed militias within the country – and Hezbollah, the Palestinians, and the Druze possess such forces – the army might have a problem, not only with fire power but mainly with entangled loyalties.”
Read it all.