- 11:30
In Lebanon, some speeches go beyond conveying information, they amount to declarations of war. On Friday, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General delivered a statement so incendiary it pushed the nation to the edge. “The army is incapable of protecting the nation,” he declared. “The government is selling the country to Israel and the US.” “Civil war is looming.” And the ultimate warning: should the authorities dare confront the pro-Iranian militia, “there will be no life left in Lebanon.”
To underline his warning, he brandished an obscure poll asserting that “the majority of Lebanese support the resistance.” One cannot help but question the credibility of such a sample. It is a blatant fiction, easily dismissed by anyone, even a taxi driver idling at a red light. In this kind of rhetoric, facts matter little; repetition is the weapon. Repeat the falsehood enough times, and it begins to masquerade as consensus.
Make no mistake: this is an ultimatum. No tanks need to rumble through Beirut to execute a coup; all that is required is a microphone, a militia, and a narrative declaring the state dead unless Hezbollah assumes control. The pledge to “defend Lebanon” is no act of patriotism, it is a claim to a monopoly on force, and by extension, a monopoly over the country itself.
The tragic irony is that Lebanon is still called a Republic. But what remains of republicanism when a militia leader can assert that the legitimate government exists only by his tolerance, that civil peace hinges on his goodwill, and that the people revere him… all because a poll, handpicked and manipulated by him, says so?
In any other country, this would be recognized as mafia-style intimidation, and it would be subject to prosecution.
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