Maneuvers Suggest "Israel" Has Concealed Will to Initiate War

Source: Al-Manar TV, 29-4-2009

Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday that the massive "Israeli" maneuvers scheduled between May 31 and June 4, were extremely dangerous, aimed against Lebanon, Syria and Iran and would take place along the Lebanese-Palestinian border.

Berri praised Lebanese security forces for dismantling Mossad linked networks recently. He stressed the maneuvers come at a time when "Israeli" spy agents have been increasingly active in Lebanon in a clear violation of UN resolution 1701.

The Speaker underlined the necessity that Lebanon undertakes defensive measures on every civic, political and diplomatic level with the coordination between the Lebanese Army and the Resistance being a top priority.

On Tuesday, Loyalty to the Resistance bloc leader MP Mohammad Raad said that Lebanon must go on high alert in anticipation of "Israel's" largest-ever maneuvers.

"Lebanon is one of "Israel's" targets during the exercises. The country must be fully prepared for such an emergency," Raad told the national dialogue session on Tuesday.

The Hizbullah MP distributed extensive literature on the operation dubbed "Turning Point 3" with details on targets, scenarios and steps to counter a possible threat.

On the civilian level, to put civilian establishments- such as hospitals and civil services institutions- on alert for any surprising attack.

On the military level, to coordinate defense efforts between the Lebanese army and the Islamic resistance in face of any "Israeli" threat.

On the political level, to launch a political and media campaign in the world to expose the "Israeli" enemy as a side always willing to launch wars.

The Hizbullah document points that "Israel" is focusing on the factor of surprise by convincing the public opinion that the next war could break out without prior warning. "This suggests a concealed evil will by the enemy to initiate the war."

Earlier this month, the Jerusalem Post said "Israel" and the United States will hold massive joint missile defense drills later this year, testing three anti-ballistic missile systems. It did not give a date for the maneuvers.

The exercise, named in "Israel" as Juniper Cobra, will see the testing of the Arrow (Hetz) system as well as the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and the ship-based Aegus Ballistic Missile Defense System.

"Israeli" and U.S. forces have staged the Juniper Cobra exercise over the past five years but the Post said this year's drill was likely to be the most complex yet and will for the first time include the launch of interceptors.

The drills are expected to last an entire week and prepare the nation for a series of scenarios that include missile strikes with conventional and non-conventional warheads, fired by Hizbullah, Syria or Hamas, "Israeli" military officials said.

The reaction time to prepare for impact of a rocket attack in "Israel" is roughly two minutes or less. The Home Front Command and "Israeli" occupation forces said they want drills to encourage people to prepare for the possibility of war. The aim, according to defense officials, is to put the "Israelis" on alert as if the war is going to start "tomorrow morning".

The "Israeli" military will implement the lessons drawn from their defeat in the 2006 war on Lebanon on top of which would be the military and political leaderships' performance that has proved a failure.