Military posts disagreement prolong political deadlock

Tucson, Arizona: According to Al Jumhuriyyah daily, mounting political tensions in Lebanon threatened the fourth national dialogue session scheduled for Wednesday and that, ostensibly, was meant to concentrate on electing a new head-of-state. Consequently, Speaker Nabih Berri toyed with the idea of postponing the upcoming all-party talks that were supposed to occur over three successive days from October 6 to 8. Intense negotiations were under way over the weekend to determine whether they would be held at all, given Free Patriotic Movement’s Michel Aoun insisting that there could be no president without a resolution of the festering military nominations.

Meanwhile, US ambassador to Lebanon David Hale declared that his country was doubling the baseline amount of US military assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

The Speaker’s national dialogue dilemma failed to resolve pending disputes and amounted to little more than shouting matches as rival politicians pretended they could carry on as before, even if thousands demonstrated against the ruling classes.

General Michel Aoun remained adamant and let everyone know that the FPM would no longer to concerned with deliberations that skirted the military appointments file.

Given the fact that Beirut failed to fill the Office of the Presidency after Michel Sulaiman ended his term on May 24, 2014, and because leading parties paralysed the cabinet from conducting the business of state, these latest roadblocks were bound to further postpone a resolution of core crises.

Only the LAF stood, relatively speaking, intact, though sharp disagreements over who might be promoted to what posts ensured a fresh calamity.

A new proposal to resolve the controversial LAF promotions was apparently agreed to earlier this week, although neither the Speaker nor the Progressive Socialist Party leader, Walid Junblatt were keen to its terms. According to Al Nahar, the approval intended to postpone the retirement of several officers, including Aoun’s son-in-law, commando regiment chief Chamel Roukoz. Ministers representing former President Michel Sulaiman and most likely the Phalange party accepted that retirements be deferred for a full year and that the Minister of Defense could issue a decree that was allowed under article 55 of the defense law.

The deal linked the promotion of three senior army officers, including Roukoz, to the rank of major general, which would keep the latter in the army and make him eligible to lead the military, a long-sought ambition of his father-in-law.

For unclear reasons the agreement came apart because it included the appointment of a new Internal Security Forces (ISF) chief and an ISF command council, which upset Berri and Junblatt, as the latter did not wish to include ISF endorsements in the same package.

Even the Phalange were not in favor of such a deal, which was the reason a party source told the Al Nahar daily that Roukoz’ promotion was no longer achievable, and that he was set to retire this month.

Consequently, General Aoun’s reaction was not surprising as the FPM leader let it be know that he was no longer interested in the national dialogue, and that his paralysis of the cabinet would eventually lead to a caretaker government. Only a new constitutional convention may sort out these various permutations, which effectively meant that the LAF would have to assume an even heavier burden.

Towards that end, Washington opted to double the baseline amount of US military assistance it provided the LAF, which saw the commitment reach $150 million in 2015.

“These funds,” revealed Ambassador Hale after meeting Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail [Government House], “will allow the LAF to buy munitions, improve close air support, sustain vehicles and aircraft, modernise airlift capacity, provide training to its soldiers, and add to the mobility of armored units.” “In sum,” he affirmed, “it will help ensure the LAF is even better prepared to counter the threats facing Lebanon,” adding that the latest amount did not include the recent $59 million in border security equipment that was paid for by the $4 billion Saudi Arabian government grants to Beirut.