US Tells Lebanon: Israel Can Destroy Your Entire Army and All Bases in Four Hours

US Warns France Against 'Irresponsible' Arms Sales to Lebanon

How ill-equipt is the Lebanese Army for the oft-threatened Israeli invasion of Lebanon? According to reports one recent US official warned Lebanon’s Army Commander that Israel’s current contingency plan would include annihilating their entire military, every single army base and all of their offices within the first four hours of a war.

Lebanon’s military is still in the early stages of a modernization effort started by the US, but after the US halted all their aid to punish them for a border clash with Israel, the nation is looking to other potential partners like Iran and France to fill the gap.

And even though France’s proposed sale of some anti-tank missiles to Lebanon is unlikely to pose a serious threat to Israel’s “annihilation” strategy Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R – FL) angrily condemned France today, warning them it was “very irresponsible” to arm the Lebanese government, which of course the US was doing itself just three weeks ago.

During the last Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006, the Lebanese military was little more than a spectator, spending the entirety of the conflict on base, though some 46 Lebanese soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.