Hizbullah Rearmed and Primed

Not only has Hizbullah managed to regroup and rearm despite the presence of the UN's peacekeeping force (UNIFIL), but they've openly flaunted this and have all but assumed control of the Lebanese government with a veto say on anything the Lebanese government does.

Tens of thousands of rockets and missiles have made their way into Lebanon for rearming Hizbullah, including long range missiles that could hit the heart of Israel from North of the Litani River.

Now, we learn that Syria is doing its best to provide Hizbullah with anti-aircraft systems that will be used to defend those sites from IAF attack. Hizbullah has spent considerable amounts of money to buy properties throughout Lebanon in order to stockpile weapons, build elaborate emplacements and preparations for a war with Israel.

Yet the most worrisome development has to do with a new component that Hizbullah is attempting to set up in Lebanon with Syrian assistance. We are talking about an anti-aircraft system that is aimed at limiting Israel’s ability to gather intelligence above Lebanon, and later make it more difficult for the Israeli Air Force to strike in Lebanon and Syria. Should Iran, Syria, and Hizbullah be able to establish a massive anti-aircraft system in Lebanon, this will fundamentally change the strategic balance of power.

Hizbullah already possesses old models of anti-aircraft missiles and cannons; our Air Force has an answer for them. Some of them have already been deployed in the Second Lebanon War. Yet what the Syrians and Iranians may give Hizbullah at this time poses a different danger and is of a different scope than anything we have known so far (it should be noted these weapons have not yet been received by Hizbullah.) In fact, this system is supposed to provide aerial defense to the entire Syrian-Iranian rocket and missile arsenal in Lebanon and western Syria. Israel cannot reconcile itself to such development alongside Hizbullah’s rocket arsenal and ground fortifications.

War will surely come again to Lebanon at Hizbullah's time and place of choosing because the Lebanese failed to thwart Hizbullah and the UN's fecklessness enabled the terrorists and Syria to succeed. UNIFIL sat on its hands instead of disarming Hizbullah as per UN SCR 1701.

Keep that in mind as the diplomats have repeatedly attempted to claim that peace can be achieved between Israel and Syria. Syria and Iran both use Hizbullah as a proxy army, and arming that terrorist group with sophisticated weapons to be used in a war against Israel shows that Syria has no intention of peace with Israel - and would use the existence and presence of Hizbullah to extort further concessions from Israel.