General Qahwaji: Lebanon, Syria to Face "Israeli" War Together

Lebanon and Syria will face any "Israeli" war together, Lebanon's Army Commander Jean Qahwaji stated in an interview last Saturday.

In an interview published by Lebanese daily An-Nahar, Qahwaji joined President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Defense Minister Elias Murr in denying claims about Scud missiles having reached Hizbullah. "I'm convinced there are no Scud missiles in Lebanon," Qahwaji told An-Nahar, adding that the whole issue was political. "Transferring Scud missiles is not a game. Rather, it's a very complicated process," he explained.

The Army Commander went on to rule out any "Israeli" war against Lebanon in the imminent future and expect a summer "even better than the previous one," urging all Lebanese to make use of it. "It's right that the ‘Israeli' enemy could launch a war against Lebanon at any time. However, there are no signals at all of an imminent war," he said. "There are no reasons for war. The situation in the South is very calm. No one is attacking outside the borders."

Yet, Qahwaji stressed readiness to face any war with the Resistance and the people, alongside Syria. "In case ‘Israel' decides to launch any war against Lebanon and Syria, the two brother countries would face it together," he said. "Lebanon won't be an easy passage for any ‘Israeli' aggression against Syria," he vowed.

Qahwaji said, meanwhile, that the Lebanese army was at the same distance from all Lebanese parties. "All politicians want us to interfere to prevent violence. However, when we do this in their regions, they accuse us of bias," he noted. "Whoever thinks that the Lebanese army is biased or that it favors one specific side is mistaken," he added.