Washington hopes that the Lebanese military will supplant Hezbollah’s influence and power.
Written by Paul Antonopoulos, independent geopolitical analyst
Travelling to Lebanon last week U.S. Senator Christopher Murphy had promised to find additional means “to support” the population and the Lebanese army. On September 7, Murphy came good on his promise after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Secretary of State Antony Blinken to raise a total of $47 million to provide aid for the Lebanese military.
It appears that the American aid aims to prevent the implosion of the Lebanese military. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who was a part of Murphy’s delegation, admitted as much by telling reporters: “Lebanon is in free fall… we’ve seen this movie before and it’s a horror story… but the good news is it can, should, and hopefully will be avoided.”
Lebanon is in chaos and has been for years. However, last year’s Port of Beirut blast tipped the country over the edge, and now even officers in the Lebanese military, one of the most trusted and respected institutions in the country, receive about $400 a month, down from $4,000. A non-commissioned soldier only receives $50 a month.
Mohammed Fahmi, outgoing Lebanese Minister of the Interior, told the Lebanese daily Al Joumhouria on August 31 that the rate of desertion in the Internal Security Forces, Lebanon’s Gendarmerie, has recently increased because of financial issues. A general collapse of Lebanon is occurring, especially as unpaid and/or low paid security forces are no longer responding to street mobilizations and urban violence.
The Lebanese are becoming increasingly frustrated as lines at gas stations are endless, power cuts are more frequent, bakeries and restaurants are closing because of a lack of electricity and pharmacies have run out of medicines.
With general life collapsing in Lebanon and the financial situation seemingly irreconcilable, sectarianism is once again creeping into society. August was marked by clashes between Sunni Arab tribes and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah political and paramilitary group, tensions between Druze villagers and Hezbollah supporters, and acts of vandalism against a Christian village.
Against this backdrop, American aid would therefore be more than welcomed in Beirut as it allows the last respected pillar of the Lebanese state, the military, to not collapse. A collapse of the Lebanese military would likely instigate sectarian clashes between the different religious communities in the country as they seek to protect, and advance, their own interests.
Washington increased its aid to the Lebanese military by 12% last May, reaching $120 million in 2021. This financial support is multisectoral and aims to improve the equipment of the army – from armored vehicles to combat helicopters and night vision systems. Washington is also trying to train Lebanese soldiers, and since 2014, more than 6,000 military personnel have received training in the U.S.
Other western countries, such as former colonial master France, are also privileged partners of the Lebanese military too. French Defense Minister Florence Parly organized a virtual meeting on June 17 to gather emergency aid for the Lebanese army, a “pillar institution, which prevents the security situation in the country from strongly deteriorating,” according to her cabinet. France and Lebanon also signed three conventions last February on defense, naval cooperation and the fight against terrorism. Since 2016, Paris has delivered more than €60 million of equipment to the Lebanese military.
Although the financial support from the U.S. and France is undeniably generous as it helps maintain and preserve Lebanon’s most respected institution, there is undoubtedly a political objective – a policy of rebalancing vis-à-vis Hezbollah and Iran. Washington and Paris fully understand that if the Lebanese military collapses, then Hezbollah will fill the void to maintain security in the country and thus be further cemented into state structures.
Washington believes that the Lebanese army can counterbalance Hezbollah’s influence and power. The U.S. is especially worried that the Lebanese Shi’ite party is less impacted by the economic collapse because of allocated Iranian aid that reaches $700 million per year – a huge amount in Lebanon. The pro-Iranian party has recently undertaken initiatives to alleviate the deficiencies of a failed Lebanese state by importing Iranian oil in an attempt to solve the gasoline shortage, provide assistance to the families that suffered from the Akkar tanker explosion in August, and provide free and/or affordable healthcare.
However, Washington does not consider that the Lebanese army actually has cordial relations with Hezbollah. In fact, relations between Hezbollah and the military are so close that the Shi’ite group has an especially strong presence in Lebanon’s intelligence community and the two forces regularly conduct joint exercises to secure the country’s border. It is recalled that in August 2017, in the context of the Syrian War spilling over the border, Lebanese soldiers and Hezbollah fighters cleared out a pocket of jihadist in the Beqaa valley.
Although the Lebanese military is on the verge of collapse, the U.S. will not allow it to happen as it is their only gateway to any kind of influence in Lebanon. However, it appears that there is a clear misunderstanding or miscalculation in Washington – they will never be able to cut the ties between the Lebanese military and Hezbollah so long as Beirut refuses to make peace with Israel, something that is very unlikely to happen anytime soon.
The US israeli plan, divide, conquer, control, may God forbid that. 🙏
$47 million, a drop in the bucket. Israel gets billions each year and the US thinks that $47 million will sway the government?
Exactly
But the military and Hezbollah are serving the same people, and facing the same threat. Why should anyone with any brain think they can separate them?
Because the Lebanese army sat on its asses during the 2006 war.
They must be some kid of a fools.
Called Americunts.. Zio jewish controlled attack dogs
A portion of the Lebanese population dont see the Palestinian cause as a worthy cause to pursue. They would rather make peace with Israel and benefit from the economic growth that will accompany such a decision. I can’t say I blame them especially when Christians and Druze dont have the same religious mentality as Shiites. As for sunnis, well they just oppose hizbullah no matter what given the sectarian divide that Saudi arabia has planted. Furthermore, the relations that the gulf countries have established with Israel complicate matters further.
In conclusion, I’d like to point out that Lebanon is not a united country. It more like a union of tribes that don’t have much in common and who have different beliefs and values.
But Israel is not only interested in extinguishing the Palestinian course but also stealing more land; all Lebanon and Syria, and Iraq. Therefore, the lazy Christians, the conformist Druze and Money Hungry Sunnis may need to reevaluate their stand and decide if they want to be second rate citizens of apartheid Israel in the best case scenario of Israels’ plan. Otherwise, Israel may even chose to drive all from the land and the UN will just feign outrage .
Russia and Israhell talk on a daily basis. Yet Syria still gets attacked. Wonder why ?
– Russian, Israeli militaries to continue exchanging information on Syria — Lavrov –
“Those practical issues that arise in this connection [on the situation in Syria] are discussed extensively by our [Russian and Israeli] militaries on a daily basis. I believe that this practice has proven its usefulness. Today we agreed that it would be continued,” he said. ”
https://tass.com/world/1335837
I wonder who are the arsehole who thumb you down for speaking the truth. Pootin God is Chickenshit Satanyahoo
Nobody wants your Stink jewish pussy.. Not even your dead jewish men
What is happening in Lebanon is not America trying to prop up a weakened military as counterbalance to hezbollah. There’s no sense in this. The U.S could simply ease some of the sanctions so that the Lebanese military can stay afloat. Why punish the whole of Lebanon with such sanctions if the U.S doesn’t want a weakened Lebanese military?
They are trying to foment civil war in Lebanon. This manufactured economic crisis is a prelude to the king of uprising that overthrew Gaddafi and destroyed Syria. It’s just a matter of time before the Lebanon situation explodes.
America is telling the Lebanese to get rid of Hezbollah or sink alongside Hezbollah. If the political class does not form a government acceptable to the West, Lebanon will experience an uprising similar to Syria.
Islamists are winning in most cases. We’ve won in Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. We also won in Libya when we destroyed haftar’s ambitions. Egypt is a temporary setback, but Sisi too will be forced out of power. The same thing will happy in the other puppet Arab states.
Russia isn’t going anywhere farther than Syria. Idlib is a no-go zone right now. Russia also cannot stop Shariah government in its backyard (Afghanistan). The Taliban say Turkey is the most important country for them right now and they want Turkey to come develop Afghanistan’s $3 trillion mineral deposits for extraction.
Iran is losing almost everywhere. Soleimani was killed like some village terrorist. Iraq is increasingly difficult for your militias to penetrate further. Assad is weakened beyond help. Russia’s influence outpaced Iran’s in Syria, which wasn’t the case a couple decades ago. Afghanistan is back to a hardline Sunni warriors that Iran fear. Iran’s economy has collapsed despite the mounting pressure on its nuclear program. Hezbollah is in hot water in Lebanon due to the crisis and Iran cannot help. Russia is betraying your Persian asses with their oil deal between Assad and America. The Nargono Kharabakh war saw Iran loss a strategic economic advantage when the Nakchivan-Azerbaijan railroad opened. The only place Iran is winning is Yemen.
Hezbollah’s record of fighting Syrian rebels is not impressive at all. If not for Russia saving your asses in 2015, Bashar would have fallen long ago. So why are you very confident that Hezbollah will win against Lebanese rebels? Hezbollah’s strength comes from its ability to cause damage to infrastructure in Israel. But fighting rebels is a whole different thing. Rebels are mobile and missiles are not good for mobile targets. This is where Hezbollah will lose.
But Russia cannot do everything. Putin must be careful how much risk to take in terms of Russian deaths. This is why he isn’t going to try to take back Idlib forcibly like you wish.
The real terrorists are the Shiite illegal militias that are creating states within a state and destabilizing whole countries. You can never achieve your dreams this way. Let Soleimani’s death serve as a cautionary warning to the consequences you’ll face from there militia policies you Persian pursue. You cannot build an evil Persian empire by relying on militias. at a point, you’ve got to roll up your sleeves and fight. And that is when Iran will burn. It’ll be worse than the trauma of the Iran-Iraq war, because you’ll be fighting the U.S, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E combined. Not that I give a shit about any of those actors. Turkey will largely focus on curtailing Russia’s imperialistic ambitions for the Muslim world, just like what Turkey is doing in Libya and Syria.