The "Spy Gear" Scandal (?)

I can't really top Abu Muqawama's post of yesterday on the "spy gear" controversy in South Lebanon, which I haven't posted about because I thought it was a sort of non-story, but it's taken on some legs so I guess I should comment, but not without first quoting his post from yesterday, which includes these immortal comments:

Building off of yesterday's post on Hizballah and Israel, I need to tell you that the UN in southern Lebanon is complaining the Israelis have placed "spy gear" in southern Lebanon that is now causing suspicious explosions. The only thing cooler than spy gear, I say, is exploding spy gear.

What, though, is "spy gear"? Can you imagine the UNIFIL investigation?

What did you find, Pierre?

Looks like a case of spy gear, Jim.

I understand his somewhat cynical approach here since so far this seems to be blown way out of proportion, given the fact that sensors and information gathering equipment are the tools of the trade in the security business these days. Hell, clear back in the 50s we tapped the East German phone system without realizing that the East Germans knew all about our secret tunnel and were taking advantage of that knowledge. It's COMINT, folks.

So let's start with the overstatements. Here's Hizbullah's Al-Manar site in English from yesterday:

Once again, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon thwarts an Israeli plot against the country and its people and uncovers a non-traditional violation of the Lebanese sovereignty under the form of "espionage."

In a statement it released at pre-dawn, Hezbollah hailed the "major accomplishment" achieved by the Islamic Resistance when its members "uncovered and thwarted an Israeli enemy aggression," a reference to three Israeli spy devices that have been blown up in south Lebanon over the weekend.

Hezbollah pointed out that the Islamic Resistance members "managed to uncover a spy device planted by Israel between Houla and Mais el-Jabal in South Lebanon that had been installed following the July 2006 war." It said the device was booby-trapped. "The spying gear was planted on a telecommunication cable that was placed after the 2006 July war. Right after the device was discovered, the"Israeli enemy remotely destroyed the gear," the statement read.

Okay. I read that as they tapped one of your telecom lines, or something similar. The statement is, well, over the top, but hey, it's Hizbullah. As for the Israeli tap: Well, who wouldn't? Though since then Hizbullah has suggested this was planted after the 2006 war (so Israelis can infiltrate the south despite Hizbullah's security? I'm shocked, shocked.). And Israel, of course, is trying to turn the alleged revelations against Hizbullah.

I'm not sure this is news. It's classic shadow war stuff, but it distracts both sides from any substantive discussion of issues. Sure each side spies on the other. Israel has some technical capabilities that may have been in play here, but it's still not clear from the stories that this is anything more than a tapped communications line in which the tapping devices were wired for self-destruct, perhaps remotely. Israel had recently accused Hizbullah of being behind a munitions explosion in the area.

Hey, everybody, it's even easier to listen to your cell phone calls, you know? This story might last a few more days, but it doesn't strike me as very shocking.