US Plans for Anti-Hezbollah Force

In what I thought was a mundane article from UPI titled U.S. ‘to give Lebanon light attack planes’ it actually had some interesting, yet disturbing news towards the end:

…the U.S. security consultancy Stratfor says the Pentagon wants to establish [a special group] as an elite [Lebanese] army unit. Its main function will be countering Hezbollah. That could lead to a potentially explosive political confrontation that many Lebanese want to avoid. At present, the army remains weak — kept that way by Lebanese political barons who do not want their power threatened — and fractious, heavily penetrated by Hezbollah sympathizers.
“The new unit is expected to selectively recruit and its leadership will consist almost entirely of Maronite Christians and Sunni from Akkar in northern Lebanon, among which Hezbollah has little sway,” Stratfor said.

Now that’s going to work out quite well. Civil War Part Deux anyone?

The hardware the US plans to provide to the Lebanese Army as well as an anti-Hezbollah special unit.

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Lebanon’s MiGs on their Way

The 10 MiGs promised by Russia may hit the Lebanese skies very soon:

Russian military group of experts will be visiting Lebanon in the next few days, on a mission that consists of exploring the capabilities of Lebanese airports to maintain the MiGs. Days later, Lebanese military envoys will pay a visit to Moscow in order to put the final touches on the deal,

I’m not going to bore you with the analysis and criticisms that followed the initial news report. I recommend checking out Pierre Tristam’s post on the motives for the Russian move.

MiGs for Lebanon: Which button releases the ashtray?

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Breaking News – 06:25am GMT

Lebanese Army finds 4 rockets targeting Israel in Houla, South Lebanon. Rockets were ready for launch.

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Army Goes Cubic

A press release from California:

Cubic Corporation has been awarded defense contracts totaling more than $5 million to supply combat training systems to the governments of Lebanon and Kyrgyzstan, new international customers for Cubic.
[...]
Manufactured by Cubic’s Simulation Systems Division in Orlando, the state-of-the-art systems use digital video projectors, high-definition screens, game-based computer graphics and simulated weapons to create realistic, ballistically accurate “virtual” combat scenarios. They are used to teach and maintain marksmanship skills, team and squad training, and provide “shoot/don’t shoot” training for soldiers and police officers.

In essence the army has got its hand on some Nintendo Wii’s.

Lebanon has purchased five 10-lane EST 2000s that will be used by the conventional and Special Operations Forces of the Lebanese Army at five locations throughout the country.

Actually, they weren’t ‘purchased’, but once again, are a donation by the US and part of their military assistance package.

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• Lebanon’s MiGs on their Way
• US Plans for Anti-Hezbollah Force
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Military Spending

When it comes to military spending, Lebanon has opened its pockets and stuck its hand deep into it:

Facing increased security threats, Lebanon’s defense and security spending is forecast to increase by 22 percent by the end of 2009, European analysts predict.

If you’re expecting the money went to procure arms and munitions, then think again:

While the country is said to be probing prospective suppliers of arms to increase its defense capabilities, the SIPRI report indicated that Lebanon’s increased military spending was due to increased salaries and wages following a 66 percent increase in the country’s minimum wage.

Weapons are still obtained through donations rather than purchases. So if you were expecting a significant change in the Armed Forces, you can release your breath, we still have the smallest army in the Middle East.

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