Military Source Says Lieberman Remarks 'Totally Contradict with Reality'

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman's claim that the Lebanese Army has become “an integral part of Hizbullah” is a statement that “totally contradicts with reality,” a Lebanese military source has said.

Lieberman's remarks “carried a level of contradictions that cannot be taken seriously,” the source told al-Joumhouria newspaper in an interview published Wednesday.

“Lieberman considered that the Lebanese Army has become an integral part of Hizbullah, and this statement totally contradicts with reality, seeing at the U.S. and the UK are offering generous military aid to the Lebanese Army and they have confirmed that they will continue equipping the army while voicing their continued confidence in the military institution,” the source said.

“The Lebanese Army is fully independent and it implements the decisions of the political authority,” the Lebanese military source added.

The source also stressed that the army's “main mission is to protect all Lebanese territory and it has nothing to do with linking fronts or any fighting outside the border.”

The Army Command issued an official statement later on Wednesday noting that the remarks attributed by al-Joumhouria to the military source "do not reflect its stance, regardless whether these remarks are correct or not."

Lieberman said Tuesday that Lebanon and Syria would constitute "one front" in the event of any future war.

"There is now only one front in the north composed of Lebanon, Syria, Hizbullah, the Bashar al-Assad regime and all those who help his regime," Lieberman added, claiming that the Lebanese Army has lost "its independence by becoming an integral part of Hizbullah, which gives it its orders."