By Mike WhitneyJanuary 07, 2010 "Information Clearing House" --- "Wikileaks confirmed yet another suspected, but never confirmed, relationship between Lebanon and Israel. American diplomatic reports from 2008 detail discussions between the Lebanese defense minister and American officials. The Lebanese minister discussed how Israel could hit key Hezbollah targets, and cripple the Iranian backed Shia force. The minister also believed that Israel could take out Hezbollah without enraging the rest of Lebanon if the fighting was confined to Hezbollah held areas. It was also important that targets in Christian Lebanese areas not be bombed." "Lebanon Faces The Hidden Enemy", strategypage.com

"The aim of America and Israel is to spread chaos in Lebanon and to find excuses for foreign intervention." Hezbollah's Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah

When Israeli troops and armored units swept into Lebanon on July 12, 2006, not one soldier from the Lebanese Army was deployed to the South to defend the country. The army stayed safely tucked away in the North while Hezbollah militiamen engaged the IDF in ferocious combat for more than a month. 1,200 civilians were killed in the fighting and vast parts of the country's vital infrastructure were destroyed before Hezbollah prevailed and sent the IDF fleeing back into Israel. Lebanon managed to avoid Israeli occupation because of the heroic efforts of Hezbollah.

During the latter part of the conflict, Hezbollah's Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, issued a statement which expressed the calm resolve of its author. He said:

“Over the past few days, the Israelis did the maximum they can do, from the air and sea. There is no target—old, new, assumed, expected, based on information and analysis—they did not hit… (But) Hezbullah is still managing the battle slowly, quietly, and without any emotional reaction. You can see this. There are no unnecessary threats and no random rhetoric...We are not a classic army extending from the sea to Mt. Hermon. We are a popular and serious resistance movement that is present in many areas and axes....Our equation and principles are the following: When the Israelis enter, they must pay dearly in terms of their tanks, officers, and soldiers. This is what we pledge to do and we will honor our pledge, God willing.”

Nassrallah kept his word, his men fought bravely and Israel was routed.

Israel was deeply traumatized by the defeat. 118 IDF soldiers were killed and Israel's celebrated power of deterrence was obliterated. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hastily called off the invasion after 34 days when he could no longer bear the rising death toll. He left office two years later in disgrace. In contrast, Nasrallah's popularity has grown to mythic proportions. He is now more highly revered than any leader in the Arab world. He's the man who defeated Israel twice.

Here's how Kenneth Besig summarized the mood of Israeli public at the time. This is from the Jerusalem Post:

"Fewer than 5,000 poorly-armed Hezbollah terrorists stood off the mighty IDF for over a month. An Islamic terrorist gang with no tanks, no artillery, no fighter jets, no attack helicopters, and just a few RPG's and rifles held to a standstill nearly 30,000 crack IDF troops with the finest tanks, the best artillery, the fastest and most advanced fighter-jets and attack helicopters in the world. And they can still empty our northern communities with their rockets whenever they want. If that is not a victory, then the word has no meaning."

Thanks to Wikileaks, we now know why Lebanese troops were not deployed to the south to defend their country. This is from the World Socialist Web Site:

"A classified cable from the US embassy in Beirut has revealed how Lebanon’s ruling March 14 alliance discussed with the US its preparations for a military attack by Israel against its rival Hezbollah. This and other secret cables released by WikiLeaks are destabilizing already tense political relations in Lebanon.

According to the dispatch in March 2008, Elias Murr, Lebanon’s defense minister....told US diplomats how in the event of a military attack by Israel on Lebanon, Israel should avoid damaging Lebanese infrastructure in order to stop public opinion turning against the March 14 Alliance, as had happened when Israel invaded Lebanon in the 2006 war...

If Israel were to bomb areas under Hezbollah control, Murr made clear that the Lebanese armed forces would not intervene. He said in the course of a two and a half hour meeting over lunch, “If Israel has to bomb all of these places in the Shiite areas as a matter of operational concern, that is Hezbollah’s problem.”

Murr is reported to have said that the Lebanese army would not get involved in the next war and that the army’s objective was to survive a three week war “completely intact” so as to be able to “take over once Hezbollah’s militia has been destroyed”. He said, “I do not want thousands of our soldiers to die for no reason”.

Read the rest of this article at Information Clearinghouse

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