Under-equipped, subject to strong American influence and governed by delicate internal political and confessional balances, the Lebanese army is today a marginal actor in the ongoing war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.
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From our correspondent in Beirut,
“ An army that evacuates its positions instead of defending the border in the face of an enemy invasion… I can’t believe my ears “, growls Salem. This merchant in his fifties fled with his family the town of Saïda, 45 kilometers south of Beirut, “ after the massacre (September 28) by Israeli planes of dozens of civilians in Ain el-Delb », to the east of this predominantly Sunni city. This deadly raid sowed panic in Saida, where a vast movement of residents to leave was reported.
“ The army transformed itself into a news agency just good enough to tell us that the Israelis entered 400 meters into Lebanese territory before withdrawing shortly after », added his wife, raising her arm towards the sky in a sign of helplessness. The announcement of “ withdrawal » of the army from its observation posts on the border after Israeli threats of a ground operation angered many Lebanese.
The disappointment expressed on the networks and in certain media pushed the army to issue, on October 1, a press release evoking a “ redeployment » and not a “ withdrawal “. “ With the continuation of the savage attacks of the Israeli enemy against the various Lebanese regions, some press articles have published imprecise information on a withdrawal of several kilometers of the army from its border positions, while the enemy prepares to launch a land operation inside Lebanon, indicates the text. The army command wishes to clarify that the military units present in the south are carrying out a redeployment (evacuation) of certain forward observation posts (to other positions) within the framework of the responsibilities assigned to it “.
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The Lebanese army deploys between the Litani River and the border between 4,000 and 5,000 men, in accordance with the provisions of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the July-August 2006 war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.
Redeployment six kilometers from the border
These explanations did not convince everyone, including MP Jamil Sayyed. This former number 2 in military intelligence and then director of General Security at the time of Syrian supervision underlined the “ outcry » and the “ protests » which followed the announcement of “ redeployment “. He revealed that the army would prepare to operate a new ” repositioning » of his troops to “ a distance of six kilometers from the border “.
“ Those who criticize the army for not confronting the Israeli invasion are in bad faith, says Joe Baroudi, an electrician in his forties. It would be guaranteed suicide, because everyone knows that it is under-equipped and understaffed. “. “ The Americans and the West have never wanted to deliver cutting-edge military equipment to us on the pretext that they fear it would fall into the hands of Hezbollah. Who are they kidding? The party’s arsenal is far greater than that of the army. He doesn’t need it. The truth is that their concern has always been to guarantee and preserve Israeli military superiority », Explains a former Lebanese minister who requested anonymity.
The Lebanese army depends almost entirely on the United States for its weaponry. This dependence has increased since the withdrawal, in 2005, of Syria, which supplied Lebanon with Russian equipment. The economic and financial crisis that has hit the country since 2019 has had disastrous consequences on the army. Officers’ salaries fell to the equivalent of $80 and soldiers’ salaries to $20. Many left the ranks of the army or even desertedcausing a hemorrhage of staff.
To prevent the total collapse of the military institution, the United States continued deliveries of arms and ammunition and asked its allies to help the Lebanese army however they could. Many Arab and European countries have provided tens of thousands of food rations, others medical equipment and medicines. Qatar offered the sum of $60 million in 2022 to pay military salaries. The financial support provided by this Gulf petromonarchy continued in the following years.
Denominational imbalance
This vast aid program, however, is double-edged. It certainly prevented the collapse of the army, but considerably increased the influence of the United States within the military institution. Despite everything, it remains subject to delicate political and confessional balances which, if disrupted, risk causing its breakup. The army is thus always led by a Maronite commander-in-chief, who has vast powers. He is, however, assisted by the chief of staff, of Druze faith, and by the Military Council, composed equally of Christian and Muslim officers.
Corruption aside, the army is, in a way, the mirror of the Lebanese political system based on a distribution of political, administrative, judicial and military positions on community bases. Such a structure is necessarily fragile due to the right of veto enjoyed by the political leaders of large communities, notably the Maronites, Shiites and Sunnis. The army command is obliged to respect the confessional balances and the political balance of power in the country in order to preserve the cohesion of the institution and prevent its breakup, as happened at the start of the civil war (1975). -1990). The aid program supported by the Americans also slowed the bleeding. After enlistment campaigns over the past two years, numbers have risen to 45,000-50,000 men, after having fallen to less than 30,000.
However, a new problem has emerged. The Commander-in-Chief, General Joseph Aoun, deplored, during a meeting with journalists a few months ago, the fact that Christians are no longer enthusiastic about enlisting in the army, which accentuates the imbalance confessional in its ranks. The balance is relatively preserved at the officer level, but a large majority of non-commissioned officers and soldiers are now Muslims.
Although respected by a majority of Lebanese and respected by the main political forces, including Hezbollah, an army subject to all these constraints is not capable of facing an invasion of the territory by the Israeli army. However, its role remains crucial in preserving the unity of the country and civil peace, especially in the current circumstances. And she tries to fulfill this mission. After the multiplication of frictions between inhabitants of certain regions and displaced Shiites, it was deployed, on September 29, on the old demarcation line which cut Beirut in two during the civil war and in front of certain nerve points of the country. “ The Israeli enemy is trying to implement a plan of destruction and sow division among the Lebanese », Warned a military press release.
“ If Lebanon survives this war and the army manages to preserve civil peace, it will have a more important role to play in the future. Isn’t its leader an undeclared candidate for the presidency of the Republic? », concludes the former minister.