Subject: Re: Very interesting: Hezbollah
VERY big deal. Neutering Hezbollah removes another layer of Iranian power projection.

Alas, I wish it was a big deal. But Aoun has been saying stuff like this for more than the last year. Sadly, it's not really his call - Hezbollah is going to choose whether or not they will give up their military activities, not Aoun:

Since his election in January, Aoun has made his policy to disarm Hezbollah clear. However, the Lebanese president has also been sensitive to the terminology he uses in this regard. Aoun has avoided words like “disarmament” and used instead “state monopoly of arms”. The president has gone out of his way to show as much deference and respect to Hezbollah as possible, avoiding spite and provocation while hanging tight to the end goal: transforming Hezbollah from a militia into a political party.

Qassem’s response, however, has proven what many Lebanese have been saying for a long time: the problem with disarming Hezbollah is not one of style but of content. The militia will never voluntarily surrender its arsenal. And judging by Qassem’s comments, Hezbollah has no problem warring with the national army, a war that Aoun has gone out of his way to say that the state wants to avoid.

https://www.fdd.org/analysis/o...