Arab States Eye Better Spec Ops, Missiles
By RIAD KAHWAJI, DUBAI



The fierce fighting in southern Lebanon between Hizbollah and Israeli troops has shown that anti-armor missiles and intense guerrilla training can keep even the world’s most sophisticated militaries at bay, experts in the region say.
The conflict also has other Arab nations studying Hizbollah tactics closely and taking stock of their own military might.
Hizbollah has “proven to Arab armies that going back to some old tactics like the underground bunkers and tunnels, plus good use of anti-tank weapons could actually work effectively against modern armies like Israel’s,” said Rizik Elias, director of the Damascus-based Syrian Center for Strategic Studies.
And Kassem Jaafar, a Doha-based Middle East defense analyst, noted that “the world is actually watching through the battles in Lebanon the rebirth of the anti-tank weapons after a long period of tanks and armored vehicles ruling the battlefield, as we saw in the last U.S. invasion of Iraq.”
Pictures of Israeli Merkava tanks and armored personnel carriers burning on the battlefield have become an almost daily occurrence. At press time, more than 80 Israeli soldiers had been killed and dozens wounded since fighting erupted July 12 after Hizbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a daring cross-border attack. According to Israeli media reports, most of the troops died in rocket and missile attacks.
Hizbollah guerrillas “have some of the most advanced anti-tank missiles in the world,” said Yossi Kuperwasser, a senior military intelligence officer who retired earlier this summer, according to an Aug. 5 Associated Press wire report. “This is not a militia, it’s an infantry brigade with all the support units.”
Hizbollah is equipped with a range of anti-tank missiles acquired from Syria, Iran and the black market, analysts said. Iran, which along with Syria has long sponsored the Shiite group, admitted it has been a chief supplier for military equipment, including rockets that have been launched at Israel. Since fighting broke out four weeks ago, Hizbollah has launched more than 3,500 unguided rockets at northern Israel, killing 40 Israeli civilians.
“Hizbollah guerrillas have the Iranian-built versions of the U.S. TOW and Dragon guided missiles, branded as Toophan and Saeghe-2, and they have the Iranian version of the Russian Sagger guided missiles branded as I-Raad-T,” said Kamal Awar, editor of Beirut-based Arabic defense monthly magazine Defense 21. “They have also acquired from Syria the Russian RPG-29 shoulder-fired missile and got from the black market a few French Milan missiles.”
Awar, a retired Lebanese Army colonel, pointed out that most of Hizbollah’s anti-tank missiles have tandem warheads and some even have night-vision sighting systems.
But having a good weapon is not enough to achieve results. It is the man using it that makes all the difference, said Elias, a retired Syrian Army brigadier general..
Intensive training over the past several years combined with a virtual intelligence blackout for Israel since its forces withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 have given Hizbollah an unprecedented advantage.
“Hizbollah guerrillas have mastered the use of these missiles, and they seem to be firing them from a deadly range and with high precision rate,” said Elias. “They are hitting the Israeli tanks from the vulnerable spots on the sides.”
It’s not just Israeli armor that has suffered at the hands of anti-tank weapons. The RPG threat in Iraq has forced the U.S. military to rush protective armor add-on kits to the battlefield for their Abrams tanks, Bradleys and Stryker wheeled vehicles. Insurgents there have also learned the vulnerable spots on Abrams tanks, and attempt to shoot them in their thinly protected rear engine compartment.
The U.S. Army is now rushing to Iraq slat armor protective cages to cover the vulnerable rear of the Abrams.
The success of such weapons on the battlefield will mean success for producers, experts said.
“The impact will be on companies developing anti-tank weapons and those developing armor for modern tanks,” Awar said. “It is the historic race between the manufacturers of armor and anti-armor systems entering a new round, with the latter moving forward.”
Jaafar expected all countries that are procuring new tanks to look for lessons to be learned from battles in south Lebanon before they finalize their orders.
“Builders of modern tanks will have to look again at the self-protection systems and countermeasures for the guided missiles and tandem warheads,” Awar said. “As for anti-tank weapons, they will become more popular within special operations forces that employ tactics close to guerrilla warfare.”
There has been much speculation in the region about the current war expanding to Syria, and whether its military would be able to face up to the much stronger Israel Defense Forces.
“Battles in Lebanon have proven that Israel would no longer be able to wage its quick wars like in the 1967 War, when it occupied all of the Syrian Golan Heights and Egypt’s Sinai Desert and Jordan’s West Bank in just six days, and invaded most of Lebanon in less than two weeks in 1982,” Elias said.
He pointed out that Hizbollah guerrillas have managed to overcome Israel’s air superiority and overwhelming artillery firepower by building underground bunkers and tunnels and using barrels dug in hard sand to hide in them during bombardment. When the shelling subsides, they venture out to encounter Israeli land forces approaching them.
Elias added that Syria was watching what is happening in Lebanon and was well prepared for the worst.
The Syrian military is armed with a large variety of guided anti-tank missiles, including 1,000 Russian AT-14 Kornet laser-guided missiles and the RPG-29.
However, Awar and Jaafar believe that the way Hizbollah operates cannot be applied to other regional armies.
“First, Hizbollah is a not a regular army, and unlike most Arab armies, its fighters are highly motivated, well-trained, ideologically driven, audacious warriors who do not fear death and who have been planning for this exact battle for a few years,” Jaafar said. “Second, Hizbollah does not have exposed targets like barracks, tanks and armored vehicles [that can] be hit from the air.”
Hizbollah guerrillas use the mountainous topography to their advantage and developed their tactics to suit their environment and anti-tank weapons, Awar said.
“They had fought the Israelis many times before and knew which routes they would take in their advances, and placed their ambushes and built their defenses accordingly,” Awar said. “This is an asymmetrical warfare fought by a well-experienced force on its own very narrow territory.”
Jaafar cast doubt on the possibility of a force like Hizbollah emerging in Syria and other neighboring states because of the nature of the authoritarian regimes, which would not tolerate the existence of an independent armed group like Hizbollah.
“The weakness of the Lebanese central government allowed the appearance of such a force in the country,” Jaafar said. “But we could see less organized but more violent groups like al-Qaida emerging in the region and using tactics and weapons similar to those used by Hizbollah.” •

ברשותך:

Arab States Eye Better Spec Ops, Missiles
By RIAD KAHWAJI, DUBAI



The fierce fighting in southern Lebanon between Hizbollah and Israeli troops has shown that anti-armor missiles and intense guerrilla training can keep even the world’s most sophisticated militaries at bay, experts in the region say.
The conflict also has other Arab nations studying Hizbollah tactics closely and taking stock of their own military might.
Hizbollah has “proven to Arab armies that going back to some old tactics like the underground bunkers and tunnels, plus good use of anti-tank weapons could actually work effectively against modern armies like Israel’s,” said Rizik Elias, director of the Damascus-based Syrian Center for Strategic Studies.
And Kassem Jaafar, a Doha-based Middle East defense analyst, noted that “the world is actually watching through the battles in Lebanon the rebirth of the anti-tank weapons after a long period of tanks and armored vehicles ruling the battlefield, as we saw in the last U.S. invasion of Iraq.”
Pictures of Israeli Merkava tanks and armored personnel carriers burning on the battlefield have become an almost daily occurrence. At press time, more than 80 Israeli soldiers had been killed and dozens wounded since fighting erupted July 12 after Hizbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a daring cross-border attack. According to Israeli media reports, most of the troops died in rocket and missile attacks.
Hizbollah guerrillas “have some of the most advanced anti-tank missiles in the world,” said Yossi Kuperwasser, a senior military intelligence officer who retired earlier this summer, according to an Aug. 5 Associated Press wire report. “This is not a militia, it’s an infantry brigade with all the support units.”
Hizbollah is equipped with a range of anti-tank missiles acquired from Syria, Iran and the black market, analysts said. Iran, which along with Syria has long sponsored the Shiite group, admitted it has been a chief supplier for military equipment, including rockets that have been launched at Israel. Since fighting broke out four weeks ago, Hizbollah has launched more than 3,500 unguided rockets at northern Israel, killing 40 Israeli civilians.
“Hizbollah guerrillas have the Iranian-built versions of the U.S. TOW and Dragon guided missiles, branded as Toophan and Saeghe-2, and they have the Iranian version of the Russian Sagger guided missiles branded as I-Raad-T,” said Kamal Awar, editor of Beirut-based Arabic defense monthly magazine Defense 21. “They have also acquired from Syria the Russian RPG-29 shoulder-fired missile and got from the black market a few French Milan missiles.”
Awar, a retired Lebanese Army colonel, pointed out that most of Hizbollah’s anti-tank missiles have tandem warheads and some even have night-vision sighting systems.
But having a good weapon is not enough to achieve results. It is the man using it that makes all the difference, said Elias, a retired Syrian Army brigadier general..
Intensive training over the past several years combined with a virtual intelligence blackout for Israel since its forces withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 have given Hizbollah an unprecedented advantage.
“Hizbollah guerrillas have mastered the use of these missiles, and they seem to be firing them from a deadly range and with high precision rate,” said Elias. “They are hitting the Israeli tanks from the vulnerable spots on the sides.”
It’s not just Israeli armor that has suffered at the hands of anti-tank weapons. The RPG threat in Iraq has forced the U.S. military to rush protective armor add-on kits to the battlefield for their Abrams tanks, Bradleys and Stryker wheeled vehicles. Insurgents there have also learned the vulnerable spots on Abrams tanks, and attempt to shoot them in their thinly protected rear engine compartment.
The U.S. Army is now rushing to Iraq slat armor protective cages to cover the vulnerable rear of the Abrams.
The success of such weapons on the battlefield will mean success for producers, experts said.
“The impact will be on companies developing anti-tank weapons and those developing armor for modern tanks,” Awar said. “It is the historic race between the manufacturers of armor and anti-armor systems entering a new round, with the latter moving forward.”
Jaafar expected all countries that are procuring new tanks to look for lessons to be learned from battles in south Lebanon before they finalize their orders.
“Builders of modern tanks will have to look again at the self-protection systems and countermeasures for the guided missiles and tandem warheads,” Awar said. “As for anti-tank weapons, they will become more popular within special operations forces that employ tactics close to guerrilla warfare.”
There has been much speculation in the region about the current war expanding to Syria, and whether its military would be able to face up to the much stronger Israel Defense Forces.
“Battles in Lebanon have proven that Israel would no longer be able to wage its quick wars like in the 1967 War, when it occupied all of the Syrian Golan Heights and Egypt’s Sinai Desert and Jordan’s West Bank in just six days, and invaded most of Lebanon in less than two weeks in 1982,” Elias said.
He pointed out that Hizbollah guerrillas have managed to overcome Israel’s air superiority and overwhelming artillery firepower by building underground bunkers and tunnels and using barrels dug in hard sand to hide in them during bombardment. When the shelling subsides, they venture out to encounter Israeli land forces approaching them.
Elias added that Syria was watching what is happening in Lebanon and was well prepared for the worst.
The Syrian military is armed with a large variety of guided anti-tank missiles, including 1,000 Russian AT-14 Kornet laser-guided missiles and the RPG-29.
However, Awar and Jaafar believe that the way Hizbollah operates cannot be applied to other regional armies.
“First, Hizbollah is a not a regular army, and unlike most Arab armies, its fighters are highly motivated, well-trained, ideologically driven, audacious warriors who do not fear death and who have been planning for this exact battle for a few years,” Jaafar said. “Second, Hizbollah does not have exposed targets like barracks, tanks and armored vehicles [that can] be hit from the air.”
Hizbollah guerrillas use the mountainous topography to their advantage and developed their tactics to suit their environment and anti-tank weapons, Awar said.
“They had fought the Israelis many times before and knew which routes they would take in their advances, and placed their ambushes and built their defenses accordingly,” Awar said. “This is an asymmetrical warfare fought by a well-experienced force on its own very narrow territory.”
Jaafar cast doubt on the possibility of a force like Hizbollah emerging in Syria and other neighboring states because of the nature of the authoritarian regimes, which would not tolerate the existence of an independent armed group like Hizbollah.
“The weakness of the Lebanese central government allowed the appearance of such a force in the country,” Jaafar said. “But we could see less organized but more violent groups like al-Qaida emerging in the region and using tactics and weapons similar to those used by Hizbollah

Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning. -Rick Cook