Paris Pours Poison into a Seething Middle East Cauldron: 100 HOT Missiles Being Sent to Lebanon

There are times when I can only scratch my head and wonder who is responsible for a given miscreant act. The decision of France to supply the Lebanese army with 100 HOT anti-tank missiles falls within this domain. See: http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=199914

Q&A:

Will the missiles remain in the hands of the Lebanese army?

Little chance of that. Paris is providing the missiles with no strings attached, and some, if not all, will make their way into the hands of Hezbollah and Iran.

Why is France supplying Lebanon with the missiles now, i.e. delivery by February?

Actually, the U.S. opened the door to this idiocy when Congress recently released $100 million in funding for the Lebanese army. (See: http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?ID=195113&R=R1 ) If the U.S. is supplying Lebanon with arms, Paris can hardly allow itself to be seen as withholding "aid" to a former French mandate.

Might the missiles be used by the Lebanese army to quell an attempted coup by Hezbollah?

Not a chance. The Lebanese army has a large Shiite contingent, i.e. has been infiltrated by Hezbollah, and would not stand a chance fighting against Hezbollah, which is better armed and trained.

What are the consequences of this delivery of missiles?

The Lebanese army will be annihilated during the course of future fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Vive la France!

[I apologize to readers that comments are now being "moderated". Not long ago, a reader, sympathetic to Hezbollah, wrote to me in Arabic saying that I am a "son of a whore". Although I prefer to allow readers to vent their spleens, I still think there need be some modicum of courtesy for purposes of this blog.]