Report: Israel Could Demolish the Lebanese Army in Four Hours

The Israeli army had a contingency plan to destroy the Lebanese army and do so in just four hours, according to a report in a Lebanese paper. The daily al-Liwa reported on Friday that an aide to George Mitchell, the US special envoy to the Middle East who has been shuttling to the region to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the peace negotiation table, made the warning in a meeting he had with Lebanese army commander Jean Kahwajim. The threat came following a deadly border skirmish that killed an Israeli lieutenant colonel and three Lebanese troops. Security sources have said that Israel had been poised to retaliate to the skirmish with a limited, but heavy assault against the Lebanese Army but were called off after enormous US pressure. Mitchell’s aide Frederick Hof then told Kahwajim that any additional fire exchanges with Israel would lead to the annihilation of his military within four hours, the report said. The border has been quiet since the clash in early August. Meanwhile, fresh reports from Lebanon have accused Israel of using hot air balloons to spy on Lebanon.