(Washington Post) Howard Schneider - Hizbullah has dispersed its long-range-rocket sites deep into northern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, a move that analysts say threatens to broaden any future conflict with Israel into a war between the two countries. More than 10,000 UN troops now patrol traditional Hizbullah territory in southern Lebanon along the Israeli border, but analysts say the UN mission is almost beside the point. Brig.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the IDF head of operations, said some Hizbullah rockets now have a range of more than 150 miles - making Tel Aviv reachable from as far away as Beirut. The group "has been fortifying lots of different areas," said Judith Palmer Harik, a Hizbullah scholar in Beirut. With UN and Lebanese forces "packed along the border," she said, "we are looking at a much more expanded battle in all senses of the word."
2010-01-25 08:29:35Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive