Lebanon's failure to disarm Hezbollah keeps doing greater damage |
Lebanon’s failure to disarm Hezbollah keeps doing greater damage
To end its devastating war with Israel, Lebanon pledged to disarm Hezbollah under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. After signing the Cessation of Hostilities in November 2024, Beirut stalled for 15 months, until Hezbollah fired six rockets at Israel on Mar. 1. The Lebanese cabinet then banned Hezbollah’s military activity, but it was too late: Israel resumed operations against the pro-Iran militia. Reasons for Lebanon’s failure include weak security forces, no real political will, and endless excuses.
The Lebanese Armed Forces teeter on the brink of collapse. Qatar funds their payroll and the U.S. supplies their rudimentary equipment, but soldiers often have to moonlight as nightclub bouncers and Uber drivers to survive.
Their logistics verge on the farcical: troops in the field frequently beg civilians for drinking water or scraps of food, knocking on doors wherever they deploy. Since the 1991 end of Lebanon’s civil war, first the Assad regime and later Hezbollah itself barred the Lebanese military’s intelligence branch from gathering any information on the pro-Iran militia.
According to Lebanese sources, serious efforts only began about a year ago. Building intelligence networks demands patience, cultivating sources and forging connections. Until recently, the Lebanese Armed Forces groped blindly when confronting Hezbollah, often relying on scraps of intelligence funneled to it by Israel.
Even worse. Hezbollah maintains its own formidable intelligence apparatus, relentlessly monitoring the Lebanese military, profiling each officer and gauging his stance toward the so-called “resistance.” Those deemed sympathetic earn promotions.
Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Rodolphe Haykal himself is widely believed to have received Hezbollah’s tacit........