Hizbullah and the Tale of 2 Lebanese States

Nida Al-Watan, Lebanon, June 27

What the Lebanese authorities are doing is nothing but an exercise in futility: reinventing the wheel instead of working to quickly resolve the crisis we’re in. Lawmakers are busy with redesigning the Lebanese political system from scratch, as if our constitution, institutions, and protocols that were set forth since the Taif Agreement are nothing but an ancient relic of the past. Unfortunately, our politicians aren’t pressed to solve our country’s crises because those only fuel and empower them. Similarly, no single entity is able to lead the country, because Lebanon has played two contradicting roles: one as a member of the “Axis of Resistance” led by Iran, and another as a diplomatic player ready to negotiate with America, Russia, Turkey, and Israel. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently called on the Lebanese government to make “real reforms and work in a manner that does not make it hostage to Hizbullah” as a precondition to any foreign aid from the United States. However, the truth is that there is no Lebanese government without Hizbullah and there is no Hizbullah without the Lebanese government; both have become a single entity over the years. One hand of the Lebanese political establishment is devoid of a real military apparatus, tangible economic power, or well-defined foreign relations. It is simply subjected to the whims of Hizbullah and, through that, to the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, which has taken an increasingly active role in the region – from the Syrian civil war, through the Yemeni crisis, to the conflict with Israel. The other hand simply seeks to protect the failed government at any price while mitigating crises with Lebanon’s allies. – Rafik Khoury (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)