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"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32
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Author:  Jim Kouri
Bio: Jim Kouri
Date:  July 22, 2006
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Topic category:  Other/General

Israel Unconcerned with Lebanese Military Joining Hezbollah

by Jim Kouri, CPP

Israel is currently positioning ground troops on the Lebanese border. According to ABC News, they've also called up reserves and warned civilians to flee Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon as it prepared Friday for a likely ground invasion.

It's been common knowledge that Israeli special forces have been operating in Lebanon for days providing intelligence, pinpointing targets, and conducting reconnaissance operations.

Israeli forces would conduct ground operations as needed in Lebanon, but they would be "limited," Israeli army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz told Fox News Channel. He also said nearly 100 Hezbollah guerrillas have been killed so far in the offensive in Lebanon.

"We will fight terror wherever it is because if we do not fight it, it will fight us. If we don't reach it, it will reach us," Halutz said at a news conference in Tel Aviv. "We will also conduct limited ground operations as much as needed in order to harm the terror that harms us."

Meanwhile, the Lebanese government is threatening to deploy their military forces to assist Hezbollah in repelling an "Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon." The news media in the United States are breathlessly reporting this latest development and many world leaders and officials at the United Nations are concerned that such a scenario will lead to a full-scale war.

However, according to one official who spoke with this writer on the condition of anonymity, the Israeli military commanders are not worried and see the addition of a "Lebanese military as more of a nuisance than a threat."

"Lebanon's military feared taking on Hezbollah, even though they wanted the terrorist group out of their country. So how powerful a military will they be able to deploy if they avoid a conflict with a terrorist group?"

Military tactics experts say that the Lebanese army is more of a police force than an actual battle-hardened armed service.

One former intelligence officer, who now serves as a police detective in New York, said he finds it difficult to understand how the Lebanese government would side with the very terrorists who set in motion events that have hurt their civilian population.

"I find it astounding that the legitimate government of Lebanon would join Hezbollah in a war against the Israelis. Israel fields one of the world's most powerful and well-equipped armies supported by an air force that takes a backseat to no one. It doesn't make sense militarily or politically," he said.

Jim Kouri
Chief of Police Magazine (Contributing Editor)

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Biography - Jim Kouri

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for a number of organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration and he's a board certified protection professional.


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