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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Lebanese, American Officials Mark Delivery of U.S. Missiles in Bekaa Ceremony | |
| 2015-06-12 | |
[AnNahar] Lebanese and American officials gathered Wednesday in a training field in the Baalbek area of al-Taybeh to mark the delivery of more than 200 anti-tank missiles the United States says will help Leb's army defend its borders against terrorists.
"We are absolutely committed to making sure that the army has the capacity to be the sole defender of Lebanese territory and its borders, and is answerable to the state and to the Lebanese people through the state," he said. Lebanese soldiers fired TOW missiles and artillery, drove through the hills of the Bekaa Valley, and flew over the area in helicopters. The four-year civil war in neighboring Syria has seen violence spill over into Leb. Jihadist fighters, including al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front and the myrmidon Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group, have sought refuge in the rocky terrain on the Syrian-Lebanese border. In August last year, the Lebanese army clashed with these groups when they briefly overran the border town of Arsal. Since then, the U.S. has provided Leb's armed forces with $82.5 million in weapons and ammunition, according to the U.S. embassy. "This is a long term commitment, and we will stand by Leb's side in this regard until these forces of Evil are defeated," Hale said. The U.S.-made TOW-IIs are the same kind delivered by Western backers to Syrian rebels in April 2014. The new delivery comes in addition to artillery and ammunition that the U.S. provided to Leb in February. A $3 billion Saudi-funded program also brought French-made anti-tank guided missiles to Leb in April, to be followed over the next four years by combat and transport vehicles, three small warships, and a range of surveillance and communications. | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 Mr. Issam Fares to the white courtesy phone please, Mr. Issam Fares. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-06-12 03:22 |
| #1 "About half will go to Hizb'allah forces in Syria for use against ISIS, so they won't go to waste." You made me laugh TW Otherwise I would cry. |
| Posted by: newc 2015-06-12 02:05 |