Brandon TurbevilleActivist Post
March 16, 2017
Recently elected Lebanese President Michel Aoun visited Cairo in February where he uttered words previously treated as an open secret by preceding Presidents; namely, that Hezbollah is indeed a major part of the defense of the country. While other Presidents have tended to skirt the issue, Aoun essentially acknowledged the close relationship between Lebanon the state and Hezbollah the militia. The relationship between Hezbollah and the Lebanese state is apparent for all to see, of course, with Hezbollah acting as the major deterrent to Israel’s aggression.
“As long as Israel occupies land and covets the natural resources of Lebanon, and as long as the Lebanese military lacks the power to stand up to Israel, [Hezbollah’s] arms are essential, in that they complement the actions of the army and do not contradict them,” he said, adding, “They are a major part of Lebanon’s defense.”
But, while Aoun’s statements are entirely realistic and reasonable, Israeli warmongers have typically lept upon the statements to squeeze whatever justification for war and slaughter they can possibly manage by claiming that Aoun is essentially stating that Hezbollah and the Lebanese military are one and the same. For that reason, Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion of the Institute for National Security Studies claims that Lebanon now puts itself on the hook as responsible for anything Hezbollah might do.
Orion’s claim was that Aoun’s comments were a “lifting of the official veil and tearing off of the mask of the well-known Lebanese reality – which widely accepted Western diplomacy tends to blur. The Lebanese president abolishes the forced distinction between the ostensibly sovereign state and Hezbollah. Thus, the Lebanese president takes official responsibility for any actions by Hezbollah, including against Israel.”
