Cable leak reveals Saudi plan of setting up an Arab force to fight Hezbollah with the help of the US

[Turborama]

Source: Al Jazeera English


Saud al-Faisal was quoted saying that a security response was needed against the Lebanese
Shia group Hezbollah

Saudi Arabia has proposed setting up an Arab force to fight Hezbollah group in Lebanon with the help of the United States, UN and Nato, a leaked US diplomatic cable claims.

The cable, which was revealed by WikiLeaks on Tuesday, quotes Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, as saying in a meeting with US ambassador to Iraq David Satterfield in May 2008, that a "security response" was needed to the "military challenge" posed to Beirut by the Iran-backed group.

The Saudi prince feared a Hezbollah victory against the Lebanese government led by then prime minister Fouad Siniora would eventually lead to Iran's takeover of the country, according to the memo.

There was a need for an "Arab force" to create and maintain order in and around Beirut, he argued, saying the Lebanese army was "too fragile to bear more pressure," according to the cable from the US embassy in Riyadh. Such a force would be aided by UNIFIL troops deployed in southern Lebanon, while the "US and NATO would need to provide movement and logistic support, as well as naval and air cover," the cable added.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/12/20101281561243814.html

[aquart]

1. Funnee!

[bemildred]

2. Priceless.

Maybe they can get T. E. Lawrence back.

[JDPriestly]

3. Why do you think this is funny?

[Turborama]

4. The Guardian: WikiLeaks cables - Saudis proposed Arab force to invade Lebanon

=snip=

It would have marked a return of US forces to Lebanon almost three decades after they fled in the wake of the 1983 suicide attack on US marine barracks in Beirut that killed 299 American and French military personnel.

Faisal, in a US cable marked secret, emphasised the need for what he referred to as a "security response" to the military challenge to the Lebanon government from Hezbollah, the Shia militia backed by Iran and, to a lesser extent, Syria.

The cable says: "Specifically, Saud argued for an 'Arab force' to create and maintain order in and around Beirut.

"The US and Nato would need to provide transport and logistical support, as well as 'naval and air cover'. Saud said that a Hezbollah victory in Beirut would mean the end of the Siniora government and the 'Iranian takeover' of Lebanon."

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-saudi-arab-invasion-lebanon