Lisa [Goldman] and I met Israeli Defense Forces Spokesman Zvika Golan at a base in the north near the border. He told us to follow him in his jeep as he drove to a lookout point next to an IDF watch tower that opened up over Lebanon. ...
He introduced me to a young bearded lieutenant in the IDF [see link for photo] on border patrol duty.
What do you see when you look at Lebanon?” I asked the lieutenant.
“I see poverty and difficult circumstances,” he said. “I see poor farmers who work hard. After so many years of war, the last thing they probably want is more war.”
“Do you know what you’re looking at when you look into the towns?” I said.
“We track movement on the other side,” he said. “I can tell you exactly what each of those buildings are for.” ...
"The UN says Hezbollah started the last fight," I said to the lieutenant. "Do you ever start any fights?"
“They always initiate," he said. "We never do. I want to go home. I want to read the newspaper and get more than three hours of sleep every night. We have no business here.”
"Are you scared?" I said.
“I am scared," he said. "As an officer I want my men to be scared.”
"Are they?" I said.
“Not enough," he said. "Not enough.”
Go to the post at Michael J. Totten for the rest, with photos.
Morning Report, April 23, quoted a bulletin on Debka about Hezbollah in Lebanon:
Debka: US, France back down on Syria sanctions, set Lebanon back to "square one". Debka: 'When he visited the White House on April 18, Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora was shocked to discover that president George W. Bush had cooled to the campaign he launched with France against the Assad regime in February 2005, after the assassination of the Lebanese politician Rafiq Hariri. He saw that Bashar Assad and his clique were getting away scot-free from being brought to account as suspects in the crime. Siniora also learned, according to DEBKAfile’s Washington and Middle East sources, that the Americans had abandoned their drive to oust Lahoud, disarm the Hizballah, disband Palestinian militias in Lebanon, and impose on them the implementation of a key UN Security Council resolution. As he left the White House, the Lebanese prime minister remarked: “Lebanon is back to square one. We are left with the ruins of the American-French initiative.” Our sources in Beirut report that, scenting the new winds blowing from Washington and Paris, all the Lebanese militias, including those linked to al Qaeda, are re-arming and rebuilding their strength. ...' Read the rest at the link. (Debka)
Here's the item at Debka.
