Not Forgotten

In the September post Lest We Forget the following observation was made:

From Maj.-Gen. Alain Pellegrini, the commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon:

"UNIFIL does not plan to deploy along the border between Lebanon and Syria," he said. "This border is airtight and hermetically closed by the Lebanese army."

There is something about his absolute certainty that makes one think it'll come back to haunt him. It is the Middle East, you know.

The only question is how long before it boomerangs.

Well, this hasn't been forgotten. In fact, it's currently the lead article on the Jerusalem Post website:

Lebanese civilians close to the border with Syria told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that weapons for Hizbullah were being brought in by the truckload at night. Lebanese Army troops on duty at the border refused to confirm the claims.
...

Saad, who had watched this correspondent from the other side of the road for some time before signaling for me to come over, added that "It's much easier for them to drive at night." He nodded toward the distant Syrian mountain range.

"There's not so much traffic on the road. And I can tell you" - his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper - "they might be going in with produce, but they're coming out with weapons. They hide the rockets under the goods and that's how they're able to bring them into the country."

...

Fifty-three year old electrician Hassan Taha, a strident Hizbullah supporter who lives opposite one of the areas the Israeli Air Force bombed last summer - a crater marks where a school, supermarket and hotel once stood - was emphatic, however. "Of course weapons are coming from the border," he said. "Everybody here knows that. They're coming from both Iran and Syria and also China and Russia. We need the weapons. We are ready now if Israel strikes us.

Nice one, Alain, you've done a good job of maintaining the UN's current reputation.