A verdade da mentira.

"IT was supposed to be the day the maligned Lebanese army took control of the country's borders and policed the UN ceasefire. Instead, the military commanders were left humiliated and troops stranded as Hezbollah told them not to disarm its fighters. The first infantry units were preparing to head south when Hezbollah showed who controls the area by announcing it would not surrender its weapons.

General Michel Sleiman, commander-in-chief of the Lebanese army, and his lieutenants had been invited to join cabinet meetings to finalise plans to deploy the 15,000-strong force south of the Litani River. But they were lectured by Hezbollah's two ministers in the coalition Government on what the army could and could not do.

In Beirut, Western diplomats said the standoff raised concerns about the army's ability to deal with Hezbollah. The Lebanese Government is left struggling to maintain a united front after unanimously backing the UN resolution on Saturday.

"The Government can't force Hezbollah to abide by the ceasefire," Economics Minister Sami Haddad said. "

Do The Australian News