From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/19/2006 3:02 AM
Hezbollah's arsenal growing in size and sophistication
Publication time: Today at 11:52 Djokhar time
In its fight with the far mightier Israeli military, the militant group Hezbollah has surprised many with its resilience and the range and aim of its rockets.
Experts say Hezbollah, already a formidable fighting force, is growing ever more sophisticated. Not only have its missiles damaged an Israeli warship and rained death on Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, but it has augmented its arsenal with innovative technology such as night vision and aerial drones.
The boost to Hezbollah's capabilities raises fears that militant organizations from Chechnya to Iraq also can acquire cutting-edge weaponry despite Western efforts to contain it.
``Missiles are the mainstay,'' said Magnus Ranstorp, a Hezbollah expert at the Swedish National Defense College. But Hezbollah also is embracing other, readily available advances, he said.
For example, Hezbollah has flown remote-controlled drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, over northern Israel at least twice since 2004.
``It's also about operational innovation, how to use simple technology,'' Ranstorp said. ``They have been trying to get their hands on auxiliary technology that will help them carry out their cat-and-mouse warfare. I think that is getting easier for them as the technology develops.''
With e-mail, Hezbollah has passed logistical and strategic information to its Hamas allies in the Gaza Strip, Ranstorp says. Sophisticated engineering including computer guidance for missiles is on the Internet or for sale.
The result: unprecedented opportunity for groups like Hezbollah to level the playing field and inflict damage on wealthier and better-equipped adversaries.
The Hezbollah leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has repeatedly said his group has more than 12,000 rockets. Experts say that claim may be exaggerated.
But the issue is not just numbers: the inaccurate, short-range Katyusha rockets that make up the bulk of this arsenal do not pose a serious military threat to Israel, experts agree.
The fight with Israel that Hezbollah started a week ago by capturing two Israel soldiers has showcased a dramatic improvement in its missile technology.
In addition to the Katyushas, which have a range of only about 12 miles, Iran is believed to have supplied Hezbollah with up to 120 Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 rockets, with ranges of 22 miles and 45 miles respectively. It was a Fajr-3 that hit Haifa, 30 miles south of the Lebanese border, on Sunday, killing eight people.
``This relationship with Iran has been going on for more than a decade and has led to the exchange of steadily more sophisticated technologies,'' said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Israel says its warship was struck Friday by an Iranian-made, radar-guided C-802 missile, which has a range of 60 miles. Iran denies the claim.
Robert Lowe, manager of the Middle East program at London think thank Chatham House, said: ``There may be a missile in their (Hezbollah's) possession capable of reaching Tel Aviv,'' about 100 miles south of the Lebanese border.
On Monday, Israeli military officials said their jets had destroyed a long-range missile in Lebanon, named Zelzal, which they said Hezbollah had received from Iran and could in theory reach Tel Aviv. The city is the hub of the country, with a metropolitan area of over a million people; an attack there would be a major escalation.
How did Hezbollah arm itself this way?
After Israel pulled its troops out of southern Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah sharply reduced military activity along the Israel-Lebanon border and moved into politics, winning parliamentary seats in elections last year and raising hopes it planned to abandon guerrilla activities and become a political party.
But the group, which is backed by Syria and Iran, also appears to have used the lull to quietly build up its military strength. Israel, distracted perhaps by new violence with the Palestinians and eager to maintain calm along the Lebanon border, did little to interfere.
The result, said Paul Wilkinson, director of the Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St. Andrews University in Scotland, is that today ``Hezbollah is one of the most sophisticated non-state (military) organizations in the business.''
Israel worries that Hamas is next, and will move beyond the inaccurate, homemade Qassam rockets it regularly lobs into Israel. The result could be a dramatic increase in deaths.
Source: Associated Press
19/7/2006
http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2006/07/19/5007.shtml
