Saddam's Bombmaker
by Khidhir Hamza
with Jeff Stein
Posted on 08/07/2005 7:56:15 PM PDT by FreedomNeocon
Syria continues to facilitate the transfer of Iranian weapons to Hizbullah in Lebanon.
U.S. officials said that within days of Syria's military withdrawal from Lebanon in late April an Iranian shipment of munitions, mortars and anti-tank rockets had reached Lebanon. The shipment was flown by air to Damascus International Airport and taken by truck to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.
"Syria continues to be a foremost supporter and weapons supplier of Hizbullah, a terrorist group active in Lebanon, and throughout the world, that has been targeting and killing Americans and many others since the early 1980s," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the House subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia.
Since May, several additional trucks believed laden with weapons were tracked moving from Syria to the Bekaa Valley. In the Bekaa, the trucks were unloaded by Hizbullah and taken to various bases in eastern and southern Lebanon.
Officials said the arms deliveries violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon as well as the disarming of Hizbullah.
"We know that Iran has been assisting Hizbullah and other organizations and moving equipment and people down through Damascus into Beirut and down into positions where they can attack Israel for years and years and years and years," U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on July 12.
So far, Lebanese forces, which have clashed with smugglers coming from Syria, have not yet intercepted Hizbullah shipments from Damascus. On July 26, in a move that angered the U.S. Congress, Lebanon's new cabinet affirmed its friendship with Syria as well as the right to attack Israel.
In a statement, the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora did not refer to the UN demand for the disarmament of Hizbullah. Instead, it appeared to support Hizbullah's military campaign against Israel.
"Armed resistance is a natural and national right of the Lebanese people in liberating their land and defending themselves against Israeli threats and ambitions," the Lebanese statement said.
Over the past few months, Hizbullah received advanced equipment for sea and air attacks from Iran, officials said. They cited unmanned aerial vehicles, scuba gear, speedboats and closed-circuit communications systems. Some of this equipment was also obtained from Canada.
Israeli troops recovered some of the advanced equipment during a June 30 Hizbullah infiltration of the Israeli border near the Shebaa Plateau.
Hizbullah also left behind advanced night-vision and communications equipment.
Assistant Secretary of State David Welch said Iranian military advisers continued to train Hizbullah after the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.
Welch said told the House International Relations Committee on July 28 that the regime of President Bashar Assad has enabled Iran to deliver weapons through Syrian territory.
"Syria continues to destabilize Lebanon by facilitating Iranian resupply of Hizbullah, and by support for armed Palestinian militias inside of Lebanon," Welch said. "The Iranians maintain personnel in association with Hizbullah inside of Lebanon."
On July 26, in a move that angered the U.S. Congress, Lebanon's new cabinet affirmed its friendship with Syria as well as the right to attack Israel.
I still think that a lot of the WMDs that WERE in Iraq, are in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.
I say nuke Syria. Who could do anything about it? The world would be better off. Think of it as pest control.
I was hoping that once syria pulled out that we might get a better look inside the bekka valley. Doesn't look like that is going to happen any time soon.
Did you happen to notice there's not a single mention of any WMDs in the article you posted?
But then nobody reads headlines anymore.
Isaiah 17:1 is coming.
Saddam's Bombmaker
by Khidhir Hamza
with Jeff Stein
Kill those providing the weapons.
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