The “war on terror” is even more convenient for Washington’s dreams of hegemony and domination than the previous war on communism, writes As`ad AbuKhalil.
by As`ad AbuKhalil
Part 4 - Hizbullah Versus ISIS & Nusrah
When ISIS and al Nusrah (al-Qaeda) subjected Lebanon to car bombs and infiltration, it was Hizbullah and not the Lebanese Army which defeated them and threw them across the border. Just as Hizbullah and its allies across the Syrian border were about to finish off the ISIS and Nusrah threat in 2017, the U.S. insisted that the Lebanese Army should shell some unidentified locations in order to send the message that the Lebanese Army — and not Hizbullah — was responsible for the eviction of the ISIS-Nusrah threat from Lebanon.
Zionist experts in Washington talk openly about the role of the Lebanese Army against Hizbullah. But the army is a mirror of the demographics of Lebanon: a solid one-third of the rank-and-file are Shiites and there are non-Shiites who also sympathize with the mission of resisting Israel.
The army commander has been attempting to return the army to its pre-1975 days when the commander’s inner circle belonged to his sect (the commander-in-chief is always a Maronite according to the sectarian political imbalances of Lebanon which are embedded in the constitutional reforms of 1989).
Zionist experts in Washington talk openly about the role of the Lebanese Army against Hizbullah. But the army is a mirror of the demographics of Lebanon: a solid one-third of the rank-and-file are Shiites and there are non-Shiites who also sympathize with the mission of resisting Israel.
The army commander has been attempting to return the army to its pre-1975 days when the commander’s inner circle belonged to his sect (the commander-in-chief is always a Maronite according to the sectarian political imbalances of Lebanon which are embedded in the constitutional reforms of 1989).
The army chief has isolated himself from the pro-Hizbullah camp, which put him in his post and has largely directed the army’s affairs through direct coordination with the U.S. government. The Al-Alkhbar newspaper talks about secret funding to the army chief and the latter seems to have a special fund for paying off journalists who put out fawning propaganda tributes in the Lebanese and Arab media.
The U.S. wishes that the Lebanese Army would replace Hizbullah as the most potent military force in Lebanon, but Washington’s alliance with Israel requires that it keeps the Lebanese Army weak and ineffective. Herein is the biggest dilemma of U.S. policy in Lebanon.
It provides the army with arms befitting a local police force in the U.S. but wants the Lebanese people to believe it can take on any external or internal threat. This is the army that failed to dislodge street checkpoints set up by the right-wing party, Lebanese Forces, in 2019 and 2020.
Furthermore, the U.S. is aiming at installing Aoun as president but his U.S.-designed role will deprive him of the support he needs from Hizbullah and its allies in Lebanon. The Lebanese Army is weaker than ever, and for that the U.S. wants it to prevail. But how can this army face off — as the U.S. wants it to do—against Hizbullah?
The U.S. wishes that the Lebanese Army would replace Hizbullah as the most potent military force in Lebanon, but Washington’s alliance with Israel requires that it keeps the Lebanese Army weak and ineffective. Herein is the biggest dilemma of U.S. policy in Lebanon.
It provides the army with arms befitting a local police force in the U.S. but wants the Lebanese people to believe it can take on any external or internal threat. This is the army that failed to dislodge street checkpoints set up by the right-wing party, Lebanese Forces, in 2019 and 2020.
Furthermore, the U.S. is aiming at installing Aoun as president but his U.S.-designed role will deprive him of the support he needs from Hizbullah and its allies in Lebanon. The Lebanese Army is weaker than ever, and for that the U.S. wants it to prevail. But how can this army face off — as the U.S. wants it to do—against Hizbullah?
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