Sunday, May 2, 2010

Hezbollah Rocket Inventories Worry Israel, U.S.


By Mona Alami

"BEIRUT, May 2, 2010 (IPS) - Recent warnings by the United States that Hezbollah (Party of God) possesses more rockets than most governments has once again placed the party’s arsenal under the spotlight.....

It was during the July 2006 war that Israel first experienced the extent of Hezbollah’s weaponry and military strategy. "Hezbollah was successful in the 2006 war because it was able to retain its firing capacity in spite of the Israeli bombings," said Timur Goskel, defence analyst and professor of conflict resolution at the American University of Beirut.

Blanford is sceptical about the Israeli Defence Force’s claim that much of Hezbollah’s chief long-range rockets were destroyed at the beginning of the 2006 war. "The party installed several dummy rocket launchers with fake heat signatures, which might have protected the party’s long-range capabilities," he told IPS.

The 2006 war also revealed that the Party of God had C-802 cruise missiles of Chinese origin, which were used against an Israeli battleship on Jul. 14. "No one imagined then that Hezbollah had this type of capability," says Goskel....."

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