[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 23, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H862-H863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        A TERRORIST GROUP REARMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today in Lebanon, protesters 
are rioting, burning tires and cars, and crippling Beirut to oppose the 
government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.
  The majority of the opposition comes from Hezbollah and its 
supporters seeking more influence in Lebanon's government.
  At the same time, one of our close allies is forced to watch these 
riots as a recurring threat is building on its borders.
  Last summer we watched as the terrorist group Hezbollah kidnapped two 
Israeli soldiers and killed eight others and began firing missiles into 
Israeli cities intentionally targeting civilian populations and 
infrastructure.
  This group was supplied by Syria and Iran for years, and built up 
stockpiles of weapons after Israel completely withdrew from southern 
Lebanon in 2000 in accordance with United Nations Security Council 
Resolution 425.
  Israel responded in self-defense and launched an offensive in 
southern Lebanon to destroy the weapons caches and Hezbollah's bunkers. 
Fortunately, the Israeli Air Force was able to destroy many of the 
longer range rockets Hezbollah possessed, but thousands of shorter-
range rockets were indiscriminately fired at Israeli towns and 
villages.
  After 2 months of fighting, United Nations Security Council 
Resolution 1701 was passed. Among other things, 1701 called for a U.N. 
peacekeeping force of up to 50,000 troops to assist the Lebanese 
military to prevent Hezbollah's resurgence and rearmament in southern 
Lebanon.
  Unfortunately, these troops have not stopped Syria and Iran from 
rearming Hezbollah, and Israel must watch as this threat is re-emerging 
just miles from its border.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record this recent article that 
appeared in Jane's Defence Weekly. It details some of the problems 
Lebanese and U.N. forces are having stopping the movement of weapons 
across the Syrian-Lebanese border. What is clear from this article, and 
numerous other reports, is that Hezbollah is rearming and gaining 
autonomy again in southern Lebanon.
  Just last week in an interview, Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, 
promised that Hezbollah would intensify its campaign to bring down the 
Lebanese Government in the coming days and weeks. Israel and the United 
States cannot let this happen, and we must support Israel's right to 
defend itself before its civilians are indiscriminately attacked once 
again.
  Over the years, we have watched as Israel has made unilateral 
concessions, withdrawing from Lebanon in 2000 and withdrawing from Gaza 
in 2005, and each concession has resulted in growing threats on its 
borders and attacks on its soldiers and citizens.
  After entering southern Lebanon to battle Hezbollah militants last 
summer, Israel again withdrew under United Nations Resolution 1701, 
passed sending international troops to southern Lebanon with the 
promise that the international troops would assist Lebanon's military 
to prevent Hezbollah from rearming.
  Again, the promises of security made to Israel by the international 
community have not been fulfilled and Hezbollah is getting stronger.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues and the international community to 
join me in looking for a solution to this situation. As a close ally, 
we should ensure Israel's hands are not tied while this threat builds 
on its border, and we should address this growing problem before 
Hezbollah again decides to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians.

               [From Jane's Defence Weekly, Jan. 3, 2007]

              Iran Replenishes Hizbullah's Arms Inventory

                           (By Robin Hughes)

       Some five months after UN Resolution 1701 halted the 
     conflict in south Lebanon between Israel and the Islamic 
     Resistance--the armed wing of Shi'ite Party of God 
     (Hizbullah), Iran has replenished Hizbullah's depleted stocks 
     of surface-to-surface rockets and anti-tank guided weapons 
     (ATGWs).
       Prior to the onset of the conflict on 12 July, Western 
     intelligence agencies estimated that Hizbullah had amassed an 
     inventory of some 12,000 rockets of various calibres. During 
     the conflict the Islamic Resistance expended about 4,000 
     rockets, while its longer-range systems, namely the Iranian-

[[Page H863]]

     supplied 50 km range Fajr-3, the 70 km range Fajr-S, the 125 
     km-range Zelzal 1 and 210 km-range Zelzal 2 rocket systems 
     were not employed, having sustained considerable damage as a 
     result of Israel Air Force (IAF) strikes.
       Hizbullah emerged from the conflict strategically weaker, 
     and, with the implementation of Resolution 1701, lost its 
     autonomy in south Lebanon.
       A Western defence source told Jane's that Iran, with Syrian 
     compliance, has now ramped up deliveries of rockets, ATGWs 
     and other advanced systems in ``an effort to rehabilitate 
     Hizbullah's military strength and status''.
       The underlying message here is one of ``unfinished 
     business'' or preparation for a second stage of operations.
       Ali Akbar Mohtashemi Pour, Iran's former ambassador to 
     Syria and one of the main forces behind the foundation of 
     Hizbullah, confirmed on 1 November in an interview with the 
     AKI news agency that Tehran had begun restocking Hizbullah 
     with weapons. Later, on 6 November, Mohtashemi Pour noted 
     that Tehran had ``started to re-arm Hizbullah for all its 
     needs''.
       The extent of this commitment was borne out in a speech by 
     Hizbullah Secretary General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah at the 
     Divine Victory Rally in Beirut on 22 September.
       ``The resistance today has more than 20,000 rockets. The 
     resistance is today stronger than on July 12 and stronger 
     than ever before,'' he said.
       While these numbers have yet to be independently confirmed, 
     the source noted that the Iranian unit charged with liaising 
     with Hizbullah, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards 
     Corps (IRGC) ``Qods Force''--currently headed by IRGC 
     Brigadier General Kazem Soleimani--has, since the end of the 
     conflict, significantly stepped up the transfer of war 
     materiel, along with funding, training and intelligence on 
     Israel, to the Islamic Resistance.
       Much of this weapons supply has been facilitated by the 
     compliance of Damascus in smuggling weapons across its 
     borders, the source claimed. ``While Iran is the key weapon 
     supplier, Syria was, and still is, the dominant if not 
     exclusive channel for weapons transfer to Hizbullah. This 
     operation is led by Syrian military officers in co-operation 
     with senior IRGC officials in Iran and Syria,'' the source 
     added.
       However, most of the rockets fired on Israel during the 
     conflict were Syrian made and the majority of ATGW deployed 
     by Hizbullah were Russian made, acquired and supplied by 
     Syria.
       Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy 
     for the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559, 
     announced on 31 October that he had received reports from 
     Lebanese government officials of ``extensive weapons 
     smuggling into Lebanon''.
       In an unprecedented step, the Lebanese armed forces have 
     deployed over 8,000 troops along the 265 km Lebanon-Syria 
     border to counter these activities.
       While they have managed limited successes, ``the length of 
     the border and the forces allocated for the mission by the 
     government are insufficient'', the sources said.
       ``Moreover, because of the sensitivity of the issue and the 
     considerable concern over Hizbullah's military strength--
     where the Lebanese forces do not want to openly confront 
     Hizbullah--the general trend is to turn a blind eye toward 
     the border activity and to detect and cover up exposed weapon 
     smuggling incidents as quickly as possible,'' the source 
     said.
       At the same time, 19 vessels of the reinforced UN Interim 
     Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL-2) are patrolling Lebanese waters 
     and inspecting ships approaching the country to prevent 
     maritime smuggling.
       A Western diplomatic source told Jane's that the Islamic 
     Resistance--citing lessons learned in the early stages of the 
     conflict where it lacked the means to contend with IAF 
     operations--has specifically pressured Iran for ``an array of 
     more advanced weaponry, including surface-to-air missile 
     [SAM] systems.''
       The source said that ``following the supply of an 
     undisclosed quantity of Iranian-made Noor [reverse-engineered 
     Chinese C802/YJ-2] radar-guided anti-ship cruise missiles and 
     Chinese QW-1 [Vanguard] shoulder-launched SAMs'', Iran has 
     agreed to supply advanced Russian-made SAM systems to 
     Hizbullah as part of its strategy to transform Hizbullah 
     ``into a coherent fighting force and a regional strategic 
     arm''.
       The source added that Tehran will supply Hizbullah with 
     Russian-produced SAMs, including the Strela-2/2M (SA-7 
     ``Grail''), Strela-3 (SA-14 ``Gremlin'') and Ilgla-lE (SA-16 
     ``Gimlet'') man-portable SAMs. Iran is also understood to 
     have agreed to deliver its own version of the Chinese QW-l 
     man-portable low- to very-low-altitude SAM system--the 
     Mithaq-l--developed by the Iranian Defence Ministry's Shahid 
     Kazemi Industrial Complex in Tehran.
       Iran has, in the interim, set out to restock Hizbullah's 
     inventory of 122 mm Grad-series Katyusha rockets, 240 mm 
     Fajr-3 and 333 mm Fajr-5 rockets, truck-mounted Falaq-l and 
     Falaq-2 truck-mounted multiple-launch rockets systems, RAAD-T 
     and Toophan ATGWs and Nader improved rocket-propelled 
     grenades (RPGs), the source said. However, to date there is 
     no evidence that Tehran is replenishing Hizbullah's Zelzal-
     series longer-range rockets, although sources suggest these 
     could still be smuggled in separate component packages.
       Syria, the source said, continues to resupply Hizbullah 
     with 220 mm and 302 mm rockets (dubbed Raad and Khaibar-l 
     (M302 by the IDF) respectively); Kornet-E, Metis-M and 
     Konkurs ATGWs; and RPG-29 tandem-warhead RPGs.
       These moves come despite offers to Israel from Syrian 
     President Bashar al-Assad on 19 December to crack down on 
     Hizbullah and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, 
     Hamas, in exchange for a return to negotiations.

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