WikiLeaks: Elias Murr Says Army Presence in South Should be Bolstered to End Nasrallah’s Arrogant Rhetoric

Defense Minister Elias Murr stressed that the Lebanese army cannot properly establish itself in the South alongside Hizbullah’s armed presence, reported a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar on Friday.

He added that the army’s position in the South should be bolstered “as soon as possible” in order to destroy Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s “rude and arrogant” rhetoric displayed during his August 14, 2006 speech, said the WikiLeaks cable dated August 15, 2006.

In addition, the minister informed then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman of the proceedings of the Naqoura meeting between Lebanese and Israeli army officers aimed at coordinating Israel’s withdrawal from the South at the end of the July 2006 war.

Murr told the ambassador that the Israelis were “friendly, asking if the Lebanese army would deploy in the South” as soon as possible.

“The Israeli army’s performance during the war was weak, especially during the past two days when tens of Israeli soldiers were killed, which left Hizbullah with a sense of victory,” he noted.

“The Israeli army has left us in a difficult position … They are the worst army in the world,” Murr added.