The “war on terror” is even more convenient for Washington’s dreams of hegemony and domination than the previous war on communism, writes As`ad AbuKhalil.
by As`ad AbuKhalil
Part 3 - US Control Since 2005
Since the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in the spring of 2005, following the assassination of Saudi-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, the U.S. has pretty much taken control of Lebanon and coordinated its moves there with its close Arab allies, especially the Saudi regime.
The U.S. asserted control over the Lebanese Army and the various intelligence agencies and worked to diffuse the anti-Israeli fighting doctrine of the army. Instead of fighting Israel (the biggest aggressor in modern Lebanese history), the enemy was made out to be unidentified terrorists who are always eager — for some inexplicable reason — to take over Lebanon.
The U.S. asserted control over the Lebanese Army and the various intelligence agencies and worked to diffuse the anti-Israeli fighting doctrine of the army. Instead of fighting Israel (the biggest aggressor in modern Lebanese history), the enemy was made out to be unidentified terrorists who are always eager — for some inexplicable reason — to take over Lebanon.
As for the U.S. training of the army, no Israeli threat is permitted to be contemplated. The U.S. provided aid and arms to the Lebanese Army but the prices for the used equipment were highly exaggerated by the U.S. embassy in Beirut to send the message of a massive buildup of the Lebanese Army.
In reality, the arms that the U.S. supplies to Lebanon (with great fanfare and in official ceremonies attended by U.S. ambassadors and army chiefs) are all useless in any major military confrontation. All the weapons that Lebanon needs (like fighter jets and long-range missiles) are denied by the U.S., and the U.S. would threaten Lebanon if it were to accept free offers of military supplies from Russia or Iran.
In reality, the arms that the U.S. supplies to Lebanon (with great fanfare and in official ceremonies attended by U.S. ambassadors and army chiefs) are all useless in any major military confrontation. All the weapons that Lebanon needs (like fighter jets and long-range missiles) are denied by the U.S., and the U.S. would threaten Lebanon if it were to accept free offers of military supplies from Russia or Iran.
Even before the civil war, we know from declassified U.S. diplomatic documents that the U.S. pressured Lebanon to reject generous offers of Arab financial aid for purposes of protecting Lebanon from Israeli aggression. In other words, the U.S. sponsors the Lebanese Army in order to keep it weak, ineffective and useless.
Instead of fighter jets, the U.S. supplies Lebanon with a handful of Cessna planes which are used in California to spray crops. Yet, the U.S. assumes that it can fool Lebanese public opinion by referring to those planes as the “Lebanese Air Force.”
And just like other U.S.-trained armies in the region, the Lebanese Army failed in its major test in 2014 when it could not even rescue its soldiers and officers who were kidnapped in ‘Irsal by ISIS and al Nusrah Front. Just like the Afghan army in the face of the Taliban, or the Iraqi Army in the face of ISIS, U.S.-trained armies in the region have failed in the mission they were supposedly specifically trained for: fighting what the U.S. calls “terrorism.”
Instead of fighter jets, the U.S. supplies Lebanon with a handful of Cessna planes which are used in California to spray crops. Yet, the U.S. assumes that it can fool Lebanese public opinion by referring to those planes as the “Lebanese Air Force.”
And just like other U.S.-trained armies in the region, the Lebanese Army failed in its major test in 2014 when it could not even rescue its soldiers and officers who were kidnapped in ‘Irsal by ISIS and al Nusrah Front. Just like the Afghan army in the face of the Taliban, or the Iraqi Army in the face of ISIS, U.S.-trained armies in the region have failed in the mission they were supposedly specifically trained for: fighting what the U.S. calls “terrorism.”
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