If we ask “where are the soldiers” from the country that Israel has just invaded, we are likely to find them on the streets driving taxis.
The Lebanese army has a bad reputation, especially for its failure to expel Hezbollah, but, based on data from the Lebanese state, it is the most respectable institution compared to the others.
With money tight and morale low, General Joseph Aoun, the army chief, is furloughing his roughly 80,000 soldiers several days a week to supplement their meager salaries, which fell to just $100 a month after the collapse. country’s economy in 2019.
This specific tactic has prevented many from abandoning the army, as they have the opportunity to show up in the fields on days when they are not doing manual labor.
Furthermore, the leadership of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) somehow managed to keep them out of Lebanon’s corrupt political systemallowing them to keep sectarian violence under control in the ruined country. As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, this role becomes increasingly vital
The LAF was criticized for failing to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which formally ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
With the help of UN peacekeeping forces, it was supposed to force the Shiite group’s fighters to abandon their positions near the Israeli border in southern Lebanon and remain behind the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the border.
The resolution was never fully implemented. The area remained under Hezbollah control until Israel’s recent invasion, which confirmed that the group maintained sophisticated military infrastructure just meters from the border fence.
In any case, it was unrealistic to expect the LAF to implement the resolution. When they were given the mission, they were already burdened by decades of Syrian occupation. Although its capabilities have improved in recent years, the powerful religious groups that control Lebanon’s political system have blocked the consensus needed to defend its execution.
The LAF has largely stayed out of the latest war between Hezbollah and Israel, which has intensified since the beheading of the group’s leadership and Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon.
Its forces have withdrawn from bases along the border and only patrol certain areas with UN escort. They have also made it clear that they want no part of what their leadership sees as Hezbollah’s war, despite some soldiers having been killed in firefights with Israeli troops.
Instead, the military has limited itself to the tasks it can perform. General Aoun, a Maronite Christian, is considered incorruptible and resistant to sectarian tendencies. Part of that reputation extends to its strength.
Its soldiers man checkpoints across the capital and mediate disputes between Syrian refugees and Christian property owners. Often acting as a police force, they closely monitor hundreds of thousands of displaced Shiites now living in non-Shiite areas. Occasionally, they fight armed religious groups.
These activities kept sectarian violence under control as the rhetoric in the country hardened.
As the Israel-Hezbollah war continues, the LAF’s role in maintaining internal peace will become increasingly vital to Lebanon’s stability.
But the Lebanese army will always be as strong as the country’s politicians allow.