Despite receiving windfalls in funding from the U.S. and Western nations over the last two decades, the Lebanese Army is too weak to stand up to the terrorist group Hezbollah, further straining an already conflict-ridden country, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Hezbollah has been one of the main actors stirring up chaos in the Middle East over the last year, launching routine attacks against Israel and raising threats against U.S. forces in the region. Lebanon’s armed forces are separate from Hezbollah and have failed to contain the terrorist group, even after receiving more than $3 billion in funding from the U.S. and West since 2006, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“It is one of the weakest armies in the Middle East,” Amal Saad, a political analyst at Cardiff University, told the WSJ. “That is part of the reason Hezbollah emerged in the 1980s — the Lebanese army wasn’t able to stand up to Israel.” Saad was referencing an Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982; the Lebanese army stands in opposition to Israel.
Part of the problem is that the Lebanese army likely has less manpower than Hezbollah. There are only approximately 60,000 active personnel in the armed forces, while Hezbollah’s former leader claimed that the terrorist group had close to 100,000 fighters. This number has been disputed, however, with some estimates putting the number lower.
Even so, the Lebanese army also doesn’t have critical air defense systems, lacks high-grade missile capabilities and only has five fighter jets in the entire fleet, according to the WSJ. Hezbollah has access to tens of thousands of rockets and drones, though some of that arsenal has been destroyed by Israeli forces in recent months.
Hezbollah also wields considerable authority in Lebanese politics, even though it is not the country’s formal governing body. Hezbollah has several officials inside the government and has successfully disrupted governmental operations — such as elections — since the group was founded after the 1982 Israeli invasion.
Seeking to cripple Hezbollah’s abilities, Israeli forces have launched another invasion across the border of Lebanon in recent months, although the operation is currently limited in scale. The Lebanese army pulled away from the border, fearing a confrontation with the higher-skilled and equipped Israeli army, according to the WSJ.
The U.S. knows that the Lebanese army has been largely a failure on several fronts. But it’s one of the only ways to keep Lebanon somewhat stable at the moment, so the funding continues, according to the WSJ.
“The Lebanese army has a decisive role to play, today more than ever,” French President Emmanuel Macron said during a global summit in France, according to the WSJ. A roughly $200 million funding package for the Lebanese army was announced at the summit.
The U.S. under the Biden-Harris administration continues to play a critical role in funding the Lebanese army, though there’s some hesitation on providing them with certain military aid amid concerns it could end up in Hezbollah’s possession.
It’s a tricky line to balance, especially given that the army has been caught in the chaos of the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
“The Lebanese military is the only military alternative to Hezbollah,” Samy Gemayel, the head of a historically Christian Lebanese party. “It should be strengthened. Without it, Hezbollah would be in control of the entire country.”
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