Page 30 - bon-dia-aruba-20210619

A30 world news
Diasabra 19 Juni 2021

Lebanon's crisis threatens one of its few unifiers, the army

expression of military power of the cases of desertion remain relatively
state in Lebanon,” he said. low, the force has seen increased in-
stances of dereliction of duty, high
After decades of corruption and mis- AWOL rates and more moonlighting
management by the political elite, by personnel to augment salaries.
Lebanon’s economy began to disin-
tegrate in October 2019. The once- The last three years have also seen
thriving banking sector has collapsed, some of the largest attrition rates,
and the currency has lost around 90 with personnel choosing to leave the
percent of its value to the dollar on military, he said. “More worryingly,
the black market. More than half the the force is losing quality officers and
nation h as been plunged into pov- noncommissioned officers - the gray
erty. matter and capabilities the force has
spent more than a decade and a half
Equally hit are the 80,000 members developing,” Nerguizian added.
of the military. Before the crisis, an
enlisted soldier earned the equivalent After Lebanon’s 15-year civil war
of about $800 a month, but that has broke out in 1975, the army split
now dropped to less than $100 per along sectarian lines. It reunited in
month. Officers’ salaries are higher the early 1990s under the command
but have also dropped in value, now of Gen. Emile Lahoud, who later be-
(AP) — Since the civil war, about $400 a month. came the president.
through wars with Israel, militant A senior army official confirmed to
bombings and domestic turmoil, The Associated Press that the eco- The army has tightened spending. A Since then, it has become one of the
Lebanese have considered their nomic situation has greatly affected year ago, it announced it would stop most professional militaries in the
military as an anchor for stability, morale. “There is no doubt that there offering meat in meals given to sol- Middle East. The U.S. has given it
one of the only institutions stand- is great resentment among the ranks diers on duty. It still offers free medi- more than $2 billion since 2007, hop-
ing above the country’s divisions. of the military,” the official said. cal treatment, but those in the force ing to build a bulwark against Hez-
say the quality and effectiveness has bollah’s power — though the aid is
But the military is now threatened by The official noted that “many duties sharply deteriorated. far below the around $3 billion a year
Lebanon’s devastating financial col- are demanded of the military,” in- it gives to Israel’s military.
lapse, which the World Bank has said cluding maintaining internal stabil- “Morale is below the ground,” said a
is likely to rank as one of the worst the ity. “The leadership is worried over 24-year-old soldier who quit the force The military is also one of the few
world has seen in the past 150 years. developments in the security situa- in March after five years of service. state institutions that enjoy respect
tion on the ground and the ability to among the Lebanese public, in con-
The economic meltdown is put- deal with this issue,” the officer said, He said that by the time he left, the trast to their politicians, so mired in
ting unprecedented pressure on the speaking on condition of anonymity 1.2 million Lebanese pounds salary infighting they haven’t been able to
U.S.-backed army’s operational abili- in line with regulations. Supporting he received was barely enough for form a government since October.
ties, wiping out soldiers’ salaries and the army is crucial to avoid Lebanon food, cigarettes and transportation.
wrecking morale. The deterioration falling into chaos, he added. He spoke on condition of anonymity, During anti-government demonstra-
puts at risk one of the few forces uni- fearing reprisals. tions that swept the country in late
fying Lebanon at a time when sec- France is convening a virtual fund- 2019, videos of soldiers overcome by
tarian tensions and crime are on the raising conference Thursday seeking Mohammad Olayan, who retired two emotion as they confronted protest-
rise amid the population’s deepening emergency aid, after army chief Aoun years ago after more than 27 years ers were widely shared on social me-
poverty. visited Paris last month pleading for in the military, told The Associated dia.
assistance. France warned that Leba- Press that his end-of-service pay has
“Such a decline could be harbinger non’s military “may no longer be able been wiped out by the crash. Instead Elias Farhat, a retired Lebanese army
of the kinds of instability not seen to fully implement their missions of a decent retirement, he now must general who is currently a researcher
since the last time Lebanon’s politi- which are essential to the country’s take odd jobs to sustain his 12-year- in military affairs, said he did not be-
cal elites gutted or set adrift the Leba- stability.” The U.S., the army’s larg- old twin girls. lieve the collapse scenario is now pos-
nese armed forces, namely in the five est backer, has pledged to increase aid sible.
years leading up to the 1975-1990 in 2021. “What incentive is there for young
civil war,” said Aram Nerguizian, se- soldiers?” he asked. “I sacrificed so “This is not an army’s crisis but a
nior advisor of the Program on Civil- The military in part counterbalances much for my country and look how country’s crisis. In the past there
Military Affairs in Arab States at the Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite I ended up because of this mafia,” he were major security problems that
Carnegie Middle East Center. faction that boasts a powerful armed said, referring to politicians. affected the army and led to its dis-
force as well as political dominance. integration,” he said, referring to the
Nerguizian warned that degradation Nerguizian said that while overall civil war.
The military itself has raised the of the military would allow Hezbol-
alarm, unusual for a force that is per- lah to loom even larger -- an outcome
haps unique in the Middle East in that few outside Lebanon, particularly in
it largely remains outside politics. Washington, want to see materialize.

Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun warned It could also open the door for coun-
in a speech to officers in March that tries like Russia, China, Iran or Syria
soldiers were “suffering and hungry to co-opt the force and find ways to
like the rest of the people.” influence it.

He also openly criticized the political Gen. Frank McKenzie, the com-
leadership, which has been paralyzed mander of U.S. Central Command
by infighting and has done almost said earlier this month that the U.S.
nothing to address the crisis. “What is committed to supporting the Leba-
are you waiting for? What do you nese army.
plan to do? We have warned more
than once of the dangers of the situa- “They’re one of the elements of the
tion,” he said — a startling comment Government of Lebanon that actually
since army officers are not allowed to functions very well, and we believe
make political statements. they should continue to be the sole