23/12/2008 Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea submitted Monday his “Swiss-model strategy to defend Lebanon,” during the third round of national dialogue at the Presidential Palace in Baabda.
 
In his proposal, Geagea apparently sought to demonstrate Lebanon’s military incapability and weakness vis-à-vis Israel’s military power. He pointed to what described as a serious difference between financial and military capabilities between Lebanon and Israel “and the incapacity of the strongest anti-Israel nations, on top of which is Iran, to engage in a traditional arms race with Israel.”
 
Geagea, an ally to Israel during the civil war, criticized MP General Michel Aoun’s view of a defensive strategy that depends on the “resistance of the people”, and reminded again of the goblin (Israel) that we all should be afraid of and avoid.
 
In Geagea’s view, developing the Lebanese army’s capabilities was not a priority “since no one can match Israel and confront it.” “Compared to Arab states, the modern military technologies possessed by Israel enable it to target any location deep in Lebanon.”
 
Moreover, Geagea uttered concern for the treasury. He stated in his “defensive” proposal that acquiring air defense systems including related equipment was something beyond the country’s financial capacity.
 
Geagea wants the army to remain weak, the military to be ill equipped and the Lebanese to be afraid of the same goblin they routed in the summer of 2006. So, how does the Lebanese Forces chief view defense for Lebanon? “To seek indirect routes to abort the objectives of the aggression before confronting it, because a traditional military confrontation would cause Lebanon heavy losses.”
 
Geagea considers that the Swiss strategic model is historically the most ideal practice that has succeeded in uniting its diverse community by adopting a non-aligned foreign policy. He suggested that all military decisions should be taken by the armed forces that should be trained in guerrilla warfare and a “national guard” be established to assist the Special Forces. "This way we will make use of the positive aspects of Hezbollah’s model and eliminate all the other aspects."
 
Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad said during the meeting that the resistance party also has a defense strategy it will submit later.
 

If Samir Geagea has not yet perceived the magnitude of strategic changes vis-à-vis the struggle between the resistance and the Israeli enemy; if Geagea has not yet acknowledged the resistance’s victory and the defeat of the “indestructible” legend of Israel; if Geagea has not yet read the long term consequences of the 2006 war and the lessons that the Israeli army itself said it has learned; if Geagea has not yet learned that a few resolute men smashed the image of the “mighty” Israeli army that will have to think a thousand times before venturing in Lebanon again; if Geagea still does not know that Lebanon lies in the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict and is in direct contact with the major regional developments that keep this country from being non-aligned as Switzerland is, then Aoun’s description of Geagea’s Swiss-type defensive proposal, seems to truly apply. 
 
“Nothing substantial really,” Aoun said adding that “I have remarks on the defense strategy that Samir Geagea has proposed, but I will not disclose them to the media.”
"He wants to fight Israel with a regular army while our proposal is based on the people’s resistance because the classical army would never be able to establish a balance with Israel. That is why we proposed the strategy of the people’s resistance.” he added.
 
Geagea’s ally in the March 14 bloc MP Walid Jumblatt meanwhile welcomed steps to arm the Lebanese armed forces “regardless of their sources” adding that some Arab states have over-needed arsenals that could be useful for Lebanon.
 
In an article published by the Progressive Socialist Party's weekly al-Anbaa, Jumblatt described the “Russian aid (10 MiG-29 fighter jets) is very important in this regard, and we look forward [to when the] the Americans would fulfill their promises to support the army.”