Syria helping to re-arm Hezbollah...

The Syrians are increasingly part of the axis of evil...

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a report Wednesday strongly suggesting that Syria has helped smuggle weapons to the Shiite movement Hezbollah and other armed groups, and that it sponsored Islamic militants involved in a military confrontation with the Lebanese army earlier this year. The report also cites Israeli assertions that Hezbollah has rebuilt its fighting capacity to a level not seen since its 2006 war with Israel.

The 17-page assessment portrays Lebanon as a country facing threats to its survival not only from Syria but also from an array of armed groups linked to Islamic extremists and pro-Syria opposition parties. It says that a series of targeted killings of Lebanese lawmakers, including the September assassination of Antoine Ghanem, is gradually eroding the government's thin majority in the Lebanese parliament.

"The pattern of political assassinations in Lebanon strongly suggests a concerted effort aimed at undermining the democratic institutions of Lebanon," according to the report, which was written by Ban's special envoy on Lebanon, Terje Roed-Larsen.