The disgrace of Lebanon: Defense Minister Ilyas Murr

"noting that the Israelis behaved "sweetly" and asked if the LAF "could come tomorrow." Murr was amazed that the Israelis had already pulled most of their troops out of the South, even though the LAF and UNIFIL-plus might still be several days away from deploying. Murr complained that the vacuum left by the Israeli "defection on the ground" is being rapidly reclaimed by Hizballah. In addition, what he saw as the relatively poor Israeli military performance, especially over the last two days of conflict when dozens of Israeli soldiers were killed, had left Hizballah in a triumphant and uncompromising mood. "The IDF put us in a difficult situation," complained Murr, adding in a typical flourish, "They are the worst army in the world.""