Yesterday I did two short video reports from outside the Lebanese Parliament – inside a military cordon that totally sealed off downtown Beirut – on the appointment of General Joseph Aoun, Head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, as President of Lebanon.
There is no other Western source giving any of this detail – not even that it is directly unconstitutional for a present or former Head of the Armed Forces to become President in Lebanon.
This report by William Christou is fascinating because it is a dark image mirror of my report. The facts are the same, but presented in a neoliberal rose-coloured light.
I report that Lebanese politicians were directly threatened by France and Germany that unless General Aoun was appointed, then Israeli troops will not leave Southern Lebanon as stipulated in the ceasefire deal.
The Guardian tells this as “Army commander’s election increases confidence that ceasefire deal will hold”.
I retell the massive pressure put on Lebanon by the United States, France and Saudi Arabia to appoint the General in addition to the Israeli military threat. Special Envoys arrived from Joe Biden (the US envoy being Tel Aviv born IDF member Amos Hochstein), President Macron and Mohammed bin Salman. The French and Saudis were actually in the room at parliament.
The Guardian sees this as “helpful” international diplomacy.
The Hezbollah-Israel war, as well as external pressure, had seemingly helped finally overcome that gridlock on Thursday. In the days before the election, a series of diplomats visited Beirut to hold talks with the main political figures.
For 13 months and 14 failed elections, Hezbollah and their allies had blocked the appointment of General Aoun. That he is the United States and Israel’s man is not in doubt. Despite Hezbollah attempting to make the most of their having voted for Aoun in the final round, to rescue what credit they could from the inevitable, this is no doubt another defeat for them following the disastrous ceasefire agreement that led to the same-day start of the assault on their ally Assad.
There is one stark and undeniable truth. The United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia have gained massively in the geopolitics of the Middle East. Iran’s position has been very seriously weakened. Panglossian attempts to downplay this by anti-Imperialists, with whom I sympathise, are unhelpful.
Both Syria and Lebanon have in the last month gained new leaders whose chief qualification for office is that they both commanded military forces which did not fire a single shot against Israeli invasion and occupation of their countries.
The Greater Israel project is well underway, with Saudi and Turkish agreement in exchange for the suppression of Shia Islam in the remaining Arab territories. Aoun’s appointed role is as a hammer against Hezbollah.
Finally, and just for fun, if you want to know what the new leadership style feels like:
To be blunt, our two months in Lebanon before Christmas made a slight financial loss. I was delighted with the output of four mini-documentaries and numerous short video reports and articles, some of which individually had millions of viewers. But to date the model of reader-sponsored real overseas journalism is not proven nor stable.
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Thanks Craig, the comparison to the Grauniad piece is indeed darkly illuminating. The world is going backwards to an even more dystopian imperialism than the one ostensibly overturned in the 20th century. I’m glad from this point of view not to have children. What kind of world are the next generation inheriting, with no substantial positive ideology around as an inspiring alternative vision?
Thank you for relaying the truth about these developments in the Arab world. The Guardian is simply the house paper of a hard-right imperialist and genocidal Labour government, some of the most unprincipled and discredited people imaginable.
Thanks Mr. Murray for your very valuable report from Beirut, where apparently the threatening Israeli drones have finally disappeared. Moreover your comments are fully in line with those of CNN in their piece yesterday
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/09/middleeast/joseph-aoun-elected-lebanon-president-intl/index.html
Actually, it’s been public knowledge for quite a while, since the Doha agreement, that Aoun was supported in his presidential bid by the major powers involved in the Lebanese scene.
And as you aptly conclude, the whole new situation in the Middle East is a severe setback for the ‘axis of resistance’ and for Iran in particular. It will probably get even worse when Donald/Elon are in the White House again….
The US Embassy in Beirut tried to gin up a civil war against Hezbollah with the right wing groups led by Civil war veteran Samir Geagea who hopes the Shiite militia will be pressed into a position where it has no choice but to disarm. That failed, now Joseph Aoun will be required to disarm Hezbollah as per UNSC Resolution 1701. And clear Southern Lebanon of all Hezbollah infrastructure [Tunnels Etc] The Israelis will insist on this. This is a disaster for the arc of Resistance. Nasrallah would never have agreed to capitulate like this. Here is a reminder the loss of Syria meant for the resistance….The late Hezbollah leader Nasrallah warned over 10 years ago that if Syria falls, Palestine will be lost.
“My brothers and sisters, if Syria falls into the hands of the U.S., Israel, the people who accuse others of heresy, and all of America’s pawns, which purport to be leading countries in the region, the resistance will find itself under siege, and Israel will invade Lebanon, in order to impose its terms on the Lebanese people, and in order to revive its aspirations and schemes. Then, Lebanon will embark upon another Israeli era. If Syria falls, Palestine will be lost. The resistance in Palestine will be lost. Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem”
https://www.memri.org/tv/hizbullah-secretary-general-nasrallah-vows-defend-syria-we-can-send-tens-thousands-mujahideen
Trying to put a positive slant on this obscenity. A battle has been lost but the war will continue.
“T’is but a scratch” as the Black Knight said, after losing both his arms.
Our gracious host, whose culture knows no boundaries, correctly alluded to Voltaire’s most famous short novel Candide.
WHO news headline from November 24th last. “More health workers and patients have been killed proportionally in Lebanon than in Ukraine and Gaza”. Article goes on:
“22 November 2024, Beirut, Lebanon – Since 7 October 2023, 47% of attacks on health care – 65 out of 137 – have proven fatal to at least one health worker or patient in Lebanon, as of 21 November 2024. This is a higher percentage than in any active conflict today across the globe. — 226 health workers and patients were killed in Lebanon and 199 injured between 7 October 2023 and 18 November 2024. In the same period, a combined total of 1401 attacks on health in (Gaza), Lebanon and Israel – 1196 in Gaza, 137 in Lebanon and 68 in Israel”.
Israel of course conducted all those attacks on Lebanon as well as on Gaza.
Catch 22 for the new president whoever that person might be. Rise up against your new colonial masters and you will be bombed even more – kowtow and there’s any semblance of sovereignty gone. Whether this will be accepted by the other Lebanese communities including Hezbollah remains to be seen. I do n’t think they will take it lying down for long despite the likely costs in terms of more bombing of health facilities and deaths,
Good piece, Craig – you need to get on BlueSky to promote your work, uncensored. It’s growing rapidly.
Question: why did Hezbollah vote for Aoun? After all, they had successfully prevented the IDF from advancing into Lebanon.
Well what could one say, the Lebanese leaders cozy up with the same americans that just – through Israel – destroyed their nation, killing thousands, with american missiles, bullets. We are talking about wilful slaves there is no other word for it.
Perhaps Lebanon will sign a normalization-deal with Israel too while they are on it? Even the lebanese governmental media had no shame putting up this some months ago:
“Israeli FM says Lebanon could join normalization with Israel if Saudi deal is achieved”
https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/regional/732236/israeli-fm-says-lebanon-could-join-normalization-w