LEBANON NEEDS A MILITARY RULE

At a time where the Middle East geo-political scene is changing at lightning speed, the moment is now for a radical change in Lebanon’s Governance and the Lebanese people should not miss that opportunity.

Iran-backed Hamas suicidal attack on Israel on Oct. 7th 2023 unleashed powerful dynamics that would have been unimaginable only months ago, leading to the eradication of Hamas in Gaza, the decapitation of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the recent fall of the Assad family’s 50 years of tyrannic rule in Syria.

But when it comes to Lebanon, the roots of the problem are far deeper than a simple de-militarisation of Hezbollah and the resumption of the institutions of its dysfunctional sectarian democracy implemented at the time of its independence.

Over the past 65 years, Lebanon’s dysfunctional system has allowed armed groups financed by foreign countries to constitute states within its own state with the objective of fighting Israel.

The 1969 Cairo Accords allowed the Palestine Liberation Organization of Yasser Arafat to arm itself and confront Israel from the Lebanese soil. This led to the devastating 1975 civil war and ended with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982 that forced the PLO out of Lebanon.

The second time, by allowing Hezbollah, a Shia terrorist group that bombed the US embassy in Lebanon, kidnapped, tortured and killed foreign ambassadors, journalists, Lebanese opponents and even Lebanon’s prime minister to take control of the country, funded, armed, funded and directed by Iran.

Hezbollah’s hold on the country led to the paralysis of its institutions, to its economic and financial demise, the explosion of the port of Beirut and a massive accumulation of offensive missiles directed at Israel.

Hezbollah’s decision to attack Israel on October 8th 2023 finally led to Israel’s decision to degrade Hezbollah, decapitating its leadership, invading South Lebanon and destroying its armament before agreeing to a fragile Cease Fire in December 2024 at a horrendous cost of 4’000 fatalities and US$ 20 billions of economic damage.

For the second time in less than 50 years, the Israeli army has freed Lebanon from the cancers that the Lebanese allowed to develop in their own country and many amongst the Lebanese population are grateful to Israel - even if silently - for having done so.

But none of the above would have ever happened had Lebanon been a functional State.

Lebanon is a young nation artificially created under the French mandate in 1926. For thousands of years prior to that, Lebanon has been populated by ethnic groups and ruled by regional empires that allowed the religious communities to manage their own affairs.

Lebanon gained its independence by accident in 1943, in the middle of the Second World War, when De Gaulle flew to England and the French pulled out of the Levant.

The leaders of the religious communities who signed the Lebanese flag on November 22, 1943, immediately reverted to their old ways, re-instating the rule of religious laws for personal status and superimposing the “National Pact” to the democratic constitution, whereby state functions are distributed amongst the various communities.

By dividing the Lebanese people by Law through religion instead of uniting them in the National identity and and creating intrinsic conflicts of interests at all levels of the State through its National Pact, Lebanon’s sectarian democracy created the weakest Nation of the Middle East, plagued by communities’ interests, corruption and compromises at the expense of the strategic interests of the Nation.

81 years later, Lebanon is one of the most dramatic examples of a self-inflicted political, economic, and social decline of any nation over the past 250 years.

It is now time for the Lebanese to take responsibility for their future, put its dysfunctional political system on hold and allow the Lebanese army to take control and rule the country for a few years.

The time needed to restore peace, finally build the national identity through a total equality of rights, create the conditions for an economic revival and ultimately implement a functional democratic system freed from religious divides and interests.

Lebanon needs a lasting Peace!

Internally, only the Lebanese army can disarm Hezbollah, all the militias and even the citizens. This can be achieved with the technical support of friendly Nations, and primarily the USA that has constantly supported the Lebanese army.

Externally, Lebanon needs to be at peace with its neighbours. It has neither the will nor the ability to confront any of its regional neighbors, and The Lebanese deserve peace at last.

Lebanon has never been at war with Israel and Israel has never been at war with Lebanon. It is time for Lebanon to engage in peace talks with Israel and join the cohort of Arab Nations that have made that choice, such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco or the Gulf Nations that have joined the Abraham accords.

Lebanon must also be at peace with Syria, and for that to happen in a lasting way, it needs a strong army that will protect it from any influence from its Arab neighbor, especially considering potential developments in Syria in the future.

Lebanon needs the return of the Rule of Law!

Lebanon needs deep reforming of judiciary and of its public institutions, eradicating sectarianism and corruption from their governance and nomination processes, and imposing qualification, meritocracy, accountability and efficiency in their operations.

Only a military rule can impose those radical changes, potentially with the technical help of friendly nations such as the United Arab Emirates when it comes to its public services.

Lebanon needs to rebuild its infrastructure!

Lebanon needs electricity, water, waste disposal, urban planning and the rebuilding of its communication and telecommunication infrastructure.

It also needs to reform and develop its health and education systems, unifying the Lebanese in the availability of medical care and in the uniformization of its curricular.

All those require massive long-term investments that will never be possible without peace, stability and reliability.

Lebanon needs a functional banking system and sound public finances.

To restore the efficiency of its banking system and the health of its public finances Lebanon needs to access the international financial markets, to re-liquefy its banking system, and to allocate efficiently and without corruption the financial help of willing donors, be they friendly nations or its substantial Lebanese diaspora.

It needs to reform its tax laws and tax collection system, its social security system and its retirement system.

Lebanon needs to monetize its natural resources!

It can and needs to attract tourism, a major contributor to economic activity, with the potential of more than 6 million inbound tourists per annum thanks to its natural beauty and vast historical resources. Tourism is estimated to bring in USD 6 Billion of GDP and hard currency per annum. But for that it needs peace, security and investments.

Lebanon can exploit its vast water resources and has the potential to monetize it to the tune of USD 5 Billion per annum. But for that it needs massive investments in infrastructure, water collection, treatment and distribution that are managed efficiently.

Lebanon can exploit its privileged solar exposure and vast areas of land that have no other uses. It can easily become a 100 % solar energy country, ensuring stable costs and reliability of energy production to its citizens.

Lebanon must exploit its vast offshore gas and oil resources that are estimated to be monetizable to the tune of USD 60 Billion, a major contribution to the state public finances for decades to come.

In sum, Lebanon has the potential to become a fantastic country, stable and prosperous.

it has the human capital, the natural resources, the wealth of its history and its privileged climate.

All of the above is what the very large majority of the Lebanese really want, let alone its very large diaspora that is longing to return home if the country becomes peaceful and functional.

But none of the above can be achieved without a lasting Peace and Security environment, and ONLY the Lebanese Army can ensure that lasting peace and security.

And none of the above can be achieved with the current political system, a divided Parliament, a divided Government and dysfunctional public institutions that are dominated by the same people that have presided over Lebanon’s demise, led to its loss of sovereignty and plagued it with corruption.

Furthermore, none of the above will ever be achieved with Hezbollah being part of either Government of Parliament or having any political role in the future of Lebanon. Their infeudation to Iran’s Mullahs regime and their decades-long track record at destroying Lebanon plead for their final exclusion from the future of Lebanon.

The time is right for the Lebanese sectarian democratic system to be put on hold, for the army to rule the country with the help of technical experts, and for the Lebanese to focus on the well-being of their families and their businesses, protected by the rule of Law, an efficient judiciary, functional public administrations and strong army and internal security forces.

Lebanon has a bright future! But it will never materialize with its current political system.

Lebanon needs a strong military rule with Gen Joseph Aoun at the helm and the time is now !

Jacques Machaalani, Founder of HezbLebnan - The Party of Lebanon