Hezbollah 'five times stronger' Than It Was During Israeli War

There's an excellent article here at Canadian Free Press written by W. Thomas Smith Jr., that you should definitely read in its entirety. Here's a few select parts of that article that detail just how strategically Hezbollah has aligned itself for the next war with Israel and other factions in Lebanon:

In terms of weaponry, strategic and political positioning, and its ever-expanding international reach; Hezbollah is “five times more capable today,” than it was at the beginning of the July 2006 war with Israel: A fact, according to experts, that prompted Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to tell his troops during a Tuesday morning tour of positions along the Golan Heights, “It’s not for nothing that we’re training here.”

And in recent weeks, its military training and posturing has increased in regions of the country far beyond its traditionally recognized southern defenses (below the Litani River) and Al Dahiyeh (Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold near the airport).

Iranian influence on Hezbollah:

For instance, in the months before and weeks since the May attacks, Hezbollah and Pasdaran (Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) fighters – according to more than one independent source – have conducted small military exercises in the area around the town of Jezzine, east of Sidon.

The strategy of the High Ground:

Strategic positioning is behind Hezbollah’s activity: Controlling as much of the commanding high-ground as possible and being positioned to cut roads and divide-and-isolate Sunni, Druze, and Christian areas in the event of war.
“Hezbollah knows that he who controls the mountains – consequently the mountain passes – controls all of Lebanon,” says Barakat. “Hezbollah is also telling itself, ‘I am afraid the Israelis will attack me north of the Litani (so I will strengthen those positions above the Litani) and I am not allowed to have my weapons and missiles south of the Litani, so I will move them north.’”

One could make the case that Hezbollah has taken positions to first control all of Lebanon and do away with their sparring factions from Christians, Druze and Sunnis. Hezbollah's issue has always been that they have enemies within Lebanon which makes conflicts with Israel even more dicey. If Hezbollah can do away with these factions in Lebanon, it will give them that much more area to maneuver in an Israeli role.

The other big question is whether Hezbollah will eventually attack Israel or rely more on provoking an Israeli action then counter-attacking. I see the latter as the more likely because Hezbollah has always trained to be on the defensive - sure, they will fire their missiles and rockets into Israel but they have never been regarded a "move forward" type of fighting force. They are more adept at cowering in civilian areas where they try to utilize the civilian human shields. When it comes to warfare, Hezbollah are chicken shits. They are the epitome of the warfare of Mohammed which calls for hiding and setting traps. They are the magpies of modern warfare.

Hezbollah “five-times” stronger than it was during Israeli war

Not for nothing indeed. Poised just over the border in south Lebanon is Hezbollah; a Lebanon-based Shiia terrorist army, organized somewhat on the Taliban model, heavily funded and equipped by Iran and operationally supported by both Iran and Syria.
Hezbollah has strengthened its strategic positions across Lebanon in recent months. And in recent weeks, its military training and posturing has increased in regions of the country far beyond its traditionally recognized southern defenses (below the Litani River) and Al Dahiyeh (Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold near the airport).
Worse, Hezbollah’s newfound political power – literally forced on the government at the point of a gun after Hezbollah turned its weapons on the Lebanese citizenry in May 2008 – has enabled the terrorist group to both maintain its private militia status (including its possession of military grade weapons and a massive private telecommunications system) and position itself as a “legitimate” arm of the Lebanese Defense apparatus. And the West – including the virtually impotent United Nations forces in Lebanon – has done absolutely nothing to prevent any of it.
All of this—accomplished despite the will of the pro-democracy majority in Lebanon – has emboldened Hezbollah, and created an environment wherein the terrorist group now feels comfortable openly-flexing its muscle in areas of Lebanon that suggest ominous plans for that country’s future.
Since the attacks in May, eye-witnesses and open-sources from Arab-language newspapers have reported an increasing number of Hezbollah paramilitary exercises – scouting, navigating, night operations – many of those exercises being conducted provocatively close to Christian areas of Lebanon, and along-or-near strategically vital roads that pass through the mountains between the coast and the Bekaa Valley to the Syrian border.
For instance, in the months before and weeks since the May attacks, Hezbollah and Pasdaran (Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) fighters – according to more than one independent source – have conducted small military exercises in the area around the town of Jezzine, east of Sidon.
“Reports about this have been limited because journalists either don’t fully recognize the strategic significance or they are afraid of Hezbollah,” says Col. Charbel Barakat (Lebanese Army, ret.), a former infantry brigade commander who today directs the office of counterterrorism for the pro-democracy World Council of the Cedars Revolution. “Almost no Western journalists have reported this, and only a few Lebanese have.”
Further north in the Sannine mountains west of Zahle, Hezbollah has reportedly set up guided-missile batteries and early-warning radar. Civilian hikers unfortunate enough to venture into this area reportedly have been detained, held, and interrogated for several hours by Hezbollah militiamen.