Lebanon is a unique country. It is rich in culture and history. To many, it is a microcosm of the Middle East, as it is home to people of all the different religions and ethnic communities in the region.
But Lebanon is also a troubled country. In fact, it is a failed state. Lebanon’s primary problem stems from the presence of the militant group Hezbollah. It is a case not seen anywhere else in the world. A militia — so heavily armed that it overshadows the national army — has hijacked the state. It runs a parallel security apparatus, and acts fully independent of the so-called government of the country. No issue of any importance escapes Hezbollah scrutiny and approval.
To top it all, it does this at the behest of a foreign power, Iran, which is hostile towards Arab states.
Hezbollah has become a potent weapon in the hands of Iran, and the regime in Tehran has used the group to further its agenda not only in Lebanon but also in other countries in the region, notably Syria, where it has intervened to prop up the regime of Bashar Al Assad.
But how did this state of affairs come about? The answer lies with Lebanon’s bickering politicians and its confessional political system.
The political paralysis has left the Lebanese state unable to take care of basic issues — like garbage disposal and operating an airport.
Take the case of the mounds of garbage on the streets of Beirut. Instead of admitting the government has no backup plan, Environment Minister Tarek Khatib said on television: “We should not alarm people with a problem that does not exist.”
How can such a regime, which fails to accomplish basic tasks, be expected to take on the might of an armed militia backed by a regional power, which has also infiltrated all organs of the Lebanese state?
Lebanon is also a country drowning in public debt, and a host of economic problems. Some parties in the Lebanese political scene are hostile towards the GCC and this has resulted in a huge decline in the number of Gulf tourists visiting Lebanon, harming the tourism-dependent economy.
The Lebanese civil war ended 28 years ago. But despite the passage of time, things have continued to deteriorate.
A central government has still not been formed four months after the elections, and earlier the country managed to go for two and a half years with an empty presidential chair. These speak volumes about the hopelessness of the situation.
Lebanon needs to put its house in order if it has to regain in its place in the Arab world. And that will only happen when the government starts acting like a government.
