The US has cancelled meetings in Washington with Lebanese armed forces commander General Rudolf Haykal after objecting to a statement the army issued on Sunday about border tensions with Israel, Lebanese officials familiar with the matter said Monday.
A Lebanese security official told Rooters the cancellations were "sudden and shocking" and prompted Haykal to call off the trip. Haykal had been due to arrive in Washington on Tuesday for meetings on military assistance and border-security cooperation.
The US Embassy in Beirut did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Washington is a key backer of Leb
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
’s army, providing support of more than $3 billion over the last two decades in a policy aimed at supporting state institutions in a country where the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah has long held sway.
In Sunday’s statement, the army accused Israel of "insisting on violating Lebanese illusory sovereignty, causing instability and obstructing the army’s deployment in the south."
It condemned the "latest attack" on a UNIFIL peacekeeping patrol, which the IDF said was accidental, and said Israeli actions required "immediate action" from friendly states as they amounted to "a dangerous escalation."
The Israeli military remains deployed to five posts within Lebanon and frequently carries out
...
KABOOM!...
s in the country’s south that it says are targeting Hezbollah operatives.
Hezbollah was greatly weakened in its most recent war with Israel, which started when the terror group began firing missiles at the Jewish state on October 8, 2023, a day after the Hamas
..always the voice of sweet reason...terror group launched its own attack on Israel from Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
, triggering the war in the Strip.
Under the terms of the truce brokered by the US and La Belle France, Lebanon’s armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms," beginning in the area south of the Litani River — the zone closest to Israel.
Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
has said the agreement only applies to the area south of the Litani.
Israel accuses Hezbollah of trying to rearm, while Lebanon’s government accuses Israel of violating the agreement by not withdrawing and continuing to carry out airstrikes.
US Republican Senator Joni Ernst said she was "disappointed" in the Lebanese army’s position. "(They are) a strategic partner, and, as I discussed with the CHOD (army chief) in August, Israel has given Lebanon a real opportunity to free itself from Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists.
"Instead of seizing that opportunity and working together to disarm Hezbollah," Ernst added, "the CHOD is shamefully directing blame at Israel."