Video Report from Lebanon's Border with Israel

May 15 2011: Violent clashes ensue as Palestinians commemorate the Nakba in Maroun al-Ras, Lebanon. CNN's Rima Maktabi reports.

Daily Star Interview with Army Commander Jean Qahwaji

The Daily Star has released the full text of its interview with Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Jean Qahwaji.  The release came in response to an article published by the newspaper which had apparently led "to some erroneous interpretations".

Earlier today MP Marwan Hamadeh, a stalwart of the pro-sovereignty March 14 movement had this to say regarding the Army Commander:

"The new majority's inability to form a government led it to create the joke of requesting the army commander, who should distance himself from political divisions, to name candidates for ministerial positions in the government."

"We hope that General Jean Qahwaji would not embroil himself in a political maneuver aimed at targeting him and the military institution, which is a source of stability for the country,"

Below is a [slightly] abridged copy of the Daily Star interview:

Q: The formula of the “army, resistance, people” is widespread. What is it based on? To what extent are you convinced by this formula and to what extent do you abide by it?

A: The formula of “the army, the people and the resistance” ... was clearly mentioned in the ministerial statement of the national unity Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri which is still currently a caretaker Cabinet awaiting the formation of the new Cabinet.

This formula is primarily resulting from Lebanon’s high need ... to confront the Israeli enemy, especially since this enemy constitutes a permanent threat against Lebanon ... This fact necessitates the existence of a deterrent force which is able to compensate for the disproportionate balance of military powers.

The Lebanese Army abides by this formula since it is part of the decisions and guidance of the political authority represented by the Cabinet and it is totally convinced by this formula since experience has proved its primary role in liberating the greater part of south Lebanon and western Bekaa from Israeli enemy occupation in addition to its role in defeating this enemy in the war of July 2006...

Q: Many reports mention a pivotal role played by Hezbollah inside the army. What is the validity of these foreign reports? What is the type of coordination between the army and the resistance and what is the extent of this cooperation?

A: These reports are erroneous ... since the Army is a unified national institution based on distancing itself from politics, sectarianism and factional issues and does not allow any side to intervene in its internal affairs. Furthermore, the Military institution immediately takes disciplinary measures when any soldier  ... takes advantage of his post to make political relations with any side.

As for the coordination between the Army and the resistance I can say that it is ongoing and its extent is tied to Israeli enemy threats and military developments on the southern border.

Q: The Army receives aid from many sides and countries, especially from the United States. What if this aid were suspended? Is it linked to conditions? Is it sufficient? What are the equipment and expertise that the Army needs?

A: The Army has ties of military cooperation with many friendly and Arab Armies ... The main fields of cooperation are currently based on training, military logistics and the exchange of expertise in addition to receiving quantities of equipment, weapons, vehicles and spare parts. We have repeatedly emphasized that the Army will not accept any aid in case it is coupled with certain conditions which will likely affect the institution’s performance and national inclusive role.

Concerning the types of equipment and weapons needed ... we can say that the Army is in need of equipment and weapons used to maintain security in addition to effective defensive weapons such as airplanes, helicopters, boats, anti-aircraft missiles, armored vehicles and surface-to-surface missiles as well as heavy-duty vehicles.

Q: Some countries have expressed their immediate desire to arm the military institution but it is evident that the Lebanese Army is hesitant with regard to accepting this aid. What is the reason? Do you think that any side is trying to hamper the objective of turning the Lebanese Army into a military strike force?

A: There are many efforts but most of them require huge funding which is currently unavailable to the Lebanese Army due to the difficult economic situation in the country. As for the offers proposed by a number of countries to effectively equip the Lebanese Army with weapons through donations we can say that until this day these offers have yet to be put into actions ... in this context we find it worthy to mention that the Israeli enemy has repeatedly exerted tremendous efforts so that cutting-edge weapons do not reach the Lebanese Army in order to prevent it from establishing a balance of deterrence.

Q: Who is threatening the Lebanese Army more than the other? Is it Israel or radical movements? What is the Army’s plan to confront these threats?

A: This generalization cannot be applied to radical movements since many of them have legitimate principles and doctrines and they endeavor to achieve their objectives by democratic and peaceful means and do not adopt the culture of violence and terrorism.

The Lebanese Army considers the Israeli enemy and terrorism as equal in terms of the threat that they constitute due to the clear contradiction between their characteristics and the nature and make-up of Lebanese society. ... Israel always had historic designs on our land and is still occupying parts of Lebanese territories in the farms of Shebaa, the hills of Kfar Shouba and Ghajar village and refuses the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland in addition to the daily breaches and violations of Lebanese sovereignty. The second enemy namely terrorism, has constantly endeavored to deal a blow to Lebanese national unity, coexistence as well as our social, economic and security stability.
...

Q: What are the lessons which General Jean Kahwagi drew from the experiences of former Armed Forces Commanders especially General Emile Lahoud and General Michel Sleiman?

A: Every Armed Forces Commander has his own leadership experiences and expertise which distinguish him from any other Commander, despite the fact that they share many common characteristics.

Leadership is an ongoing performance and each commander relies on the achievements of his predecessor and strives to develop these achievements and make his own new achievements to further promote the military institution. If we compare the current situation of the military institution with its situation in 1990 we can clearly notice that a huge development was achieved on all the levels and this is attributed to the tremendous efforts exerted by His Excellency and the former President of the Republic, General Emile Lahoud, and His Excellency the President of the Lebanese Republic, General Michel Sleiman, who have consolidated the Army’s unity and built it on inclusive national foundations. Furthermore, both Presidents have always strived to equip the army with weapons, increase its personnel and create new regiments, and build additional facilities in addition to stressing professional training on all the levels and for that I am deeply thankful.

Images from Illegal Construction Confrontations

Top: Lebanese soldiers deploy to disperse residents at a street in Tyre, southern Lebanon, April 21, 2011. Two civilians were killed during clashes between residents and security forces over the illegal constructions on public lands in Tyre, southern Lebanon, the National News Agency (NNA) reported (source).  Second: A police car is set on fire by residents in Tyre, southern Lebanon, April 21, 2011. ...(source).  Third: Residents seize a police car in Tyre, southern Lebanon, April 21, 2011. ... (source).  Fourth: A man stands at the entrance of a shop in the building of an illegal construction site in Beirut's southern suburb of Ouzai, Lebanon, Thursday, April 21, 2011. Security officials say a dispute over a building permit in southern Lebanon has descended into a gunbattle that killed two people. Illegal construction is common in Lebanon, where many poor who cannot afford to buy land or apartments end up building on state-owned property (source). Bottom: A set of replica rockets which have been set up by Hezbollah in front of a picture of disappeared imam Moussa al-Sadr and a site where laborers are working at an illegal construction site in Abu Aswad near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, April 21, 2011. ... (source).

LAF-UNIFIL Joint Military Exercises 14.04.11

Troops from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese army take part in a land and sea military exercise on April 14, 2011 in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Naqura, near the border with Israel (Getty Images via Daylife: here and here)

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Lebanese Army at the Border

Lebanese soldiers stand on alert as an Israeli armored vehicle emits smoke in a border area between Lebanon and Israel in the southern town of Adaisseh, Lebanon, Thursday, April 14, 2011 (AP Photo via Daylife).

U.S. Freezes Weapons Shipments to Lebanon

Cessna 208 Caravan.  In April 2009, the U.S. military delivered a Cesna 208 Caravan to the Lebanese Air Force.  The plane was recently used in search and rescue operations conducted by the Lebanese Armed Forces following the abduction of seven Estonian cyclists in the country's Bekaa valley.  The Estonians were abducted just after they crossed the border from Syria where the regime has sought to crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

The WSJ's MarketWatch blog reports:

The U.S. has quietly frozen weapon shipments to Lebanon's armed forces following the collapse of the country's pro-Western government in January, underlining growing concerns about Hezbollah's role there.
...
The arms freeze was recently approved by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, but the decision hasn't been publicly announced because of concerns the disclosure could interfere with delicate internal negotiations in Lebanon over a new government's makeup and policies.

Defense officials said the U.S. is continuing to provide training and nonlethal assistance to the Lebanese military, describing the ties that are active as "robust."

Since 2006, the U.S. has provided more than $720 million in support to the Lebanese military, including equipment and advanced training. Between March and October 2010 alone, this support included at least $18 million worth of military equipment and ammunition, including antitank missiles and launchers. Other shipments were in the pipeline for late last year and earlier this year but it is unclear what was delivered.

A senior defense official said the Pentagon is now reviewing all U.S. security assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces "during this period of government formation." A second U.S. official said the administration would base future decisions about security assistance, including whether to renew deliveries of lethal arms, after assessing the composition and conduct of the next government.

U.S. lawmakers had moved to block aid to the Lebanese army in August after a deadly border clash between Israeli and Lebanese units, but the congressional freeze was only temporary. Congressional aides said new legislation is likely to be introduced in the coming weeks to cut off assistance if the next Lebanese government is dominated by Hezbollah.
...
The selection in January of a Hezbollah-backed billionaire businessman, Najib Mikati, as the new prime minister, confirmed the movement's position as the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon. Mr. Mikati takes over for Saad Hariri, who enjoyed Western backing as premier.

Washington's limited ability to influence events in Lebanon spotlights potential pitfalls of the changes sweeping the region. As countries such as Tunisia and Egypt grapple with the realities of building new political institutions after years of autocracy, officials worry whether any popularly elected governments that emerge will be able to align themselves as closely with Washington's interests.

Defense officials, however, say they want to keep some level of support for the Lebanese armed forces. Though weakened, officials say, the Lebanese armed forces are likely the only state institution with a chance of maintaining stability.
...
In talks with their U.S. counterparts, Israeli officials pushed to suspend arms transfers to Lebanon "out of fear that [arms] would end up in the wrong hands and eventually be used against us," an Israeli official said.

According to new Israeli intelligence estimates, Hezbollah has built as many as 550 bunkers in southern Lebanon, including 100 storage units holding rockets and missiles. Hezbollah has an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 rockets, far more than during the 2006 Lebanon war, Israeli officials say.
...

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The German Navy's "Main" in Beirut

The UNIFIL Bundeswehr led training of the Lebanese Navy, held on one of the main ships of the German Navy, the tender "Main". (Demotix Images - 07/09/2010 via Daylife)

LAF-UNIFIL Joint Military Exercises 01.09.10

French soldiers from the United Nations Interim Forces In Lebanon (UNIFIL) fire their artillery during a joint exercise with Lebanese Army Forces in the village of Naqura south of Beirut on September 01, 2010. The Field Artillery Group, part of UNIFIL Quick Reaction Force, and LAF Artillery took part in the exercise named 'Neptune Thunder' in an area about a Kilometer south of UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqura near the Lebanese Israeli border. (Getty Images via Daylife)

France Offered Lebanon 100 HOT Missiles

Asharq al Awsat reports:

... a high level French official informed Asharq Al-Awsat that French Defense Minister Herve Morin had sent a letter to his Lebanese counterpart Elias Murr in May – via the French Army Chief of Staff who was visiting Lebanon at the time – informing him that Paris was "ready" to deliver 100 HOT missiles to Beirut.  The HOT [High Subsonic Optical Remote-Guided Fired from Tube] missiles is a long-range anti-tank missile system designed by Euromissile that Beirut want to arm its French-designed Gazelle army helicopters with. 

The French official acknowledged that Israel "protested" the French decision ... and that Washington raised "question marks" ... However he also "categorically denied" that Paris had "given in to pressure" and that this was behind the deal not being completed.

The senior French official placed the blame for this arms deal's failure or delay upon Lebanon, citing the state of "confusion" that the Lebanese administration is suffering from, especially with regards to defense affairs.

Lebanese Army on Patrol: Sidon - May 2010

Lebanese special forces army, stand on their armored personal carriers as they patrol during the municipal elections in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, on Sunday, May 23, 2010. Tens of thousands of Lebanese headed to ballot stations Sunday to vote in the third of four-stage municipal elections in south Lebanon. Thousands of Lebanese troops have been sent to the south to try to prevent municipal elections from triggering violence between political rivals.(AP Photo via DayLife)