President Trump and the Lebanese Lobby

The remarks made by US President Donald Trump during his meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun caught my attention. When speaking about Lebanon, he said: “The talks will focus on ways to support the country, and my country will help Lebanon greatly, as Lebanon has been treated poorly. I sympathize with it, and I have many Lebanese friends... We will work to resume direct air links between Beirut and the United States.”

From these remarks, I understand that President Trump has decided to return Lebanon to the state it was in during the 1950s and 1960s, up until the outbreak of “the other war” in the mid-1970s, which destroyed the country, plunging it into the abyss of killing, degradation, and retrogression. This specifically means that the US effort aims to restore stability in our country by steering it toward neutrality, exiting regional axes and conflicts, and reclaiming its civilizational role and its prestigious cultural and financial center in the Arab East.

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President Trump’s words are not mere flattery, but a firm will to make Lebanon once again a thriving regional hub, thanks to its freedom, openness, and attractive natural beauty for tourism, its balanced cultural pulse, and its fertile ground for investment... all with the aim of returning the country to its golden age.

With sincere gratitude to President Trump for his valuable initiative, and with confidence in his hoped-for promise, we must emphasize the necessity of our contribution to the success of his project. In this regard, two matters should be highlighted: the state’s monopoly on arms, and the mobilization of the Lebanese lobby in the United States in line with President Trump’s desire to help Lebanon and put it on the path to salvation. It must be stressed insistently that Lebanon will not return to its former prosperity, security, and affluence unless the file of arms possession outside the state framework is closed, regardless of the owner, whether local or external. Handing over weapons to legitimate forces, so that the state alone may regain control over war and peace, must be done as quickly as possible, by any means, so that no illegal weapons remain across the entire territory of the country, which could entangle the nation in a new catastrophic war and internal conflicts, the outcomes of which would be nothing but devastation, casualties, and the destruction of the national entity, pushing it into a deadly abyss from which it cannot emerge.

The existence of a power usurping authority above that of the state means planting further fragmentation in the body of the nation, annihilating the path of free living that preserves the right to national dignity, turning the country back to the Dark Ages, deepening the chasm between the people and their hopes, and eradicating the values of freedom, democracy, and the right to a decent life. This allows illegal, odious weapons, along with their mafias and gangs, to hold the people and the nation’s fate hostage. Thus, if the situation remains unchanged, Lebanon will not recover from its stumble, nor will it return to being a clean nation that moves toward spaces of freedom and rights. Consequently, President Trump’s promise will be aborted, and the rare opportunity for Lebanon to transition from illness to health, from a destroyed entity to a state project, from degenerative decline to promising revival, and from a face saturated with ugliness to a pure dawn, will be squandered.

Therefore, what is required from the armed “Hezbollah,” whose spokespeople amaze us with sophistical arguments and stale, wooden speeches, is to immediately hand over its weapons to the Lebanese Army. The people can no longer tolerate the silence over the looted security that has undermined the national structure, weakened the state, posed a threat to the national entity, and harbored a racist project that has turned the country into a rigid corpse.

Likewise, the state must take the initiative to implement the commitments outlined in the presidential oath-taking address, the ministerial statement, and the remarks made by the presidents of the Republic and the Government, by any means necessary. This is essential to rescue Lebanon from the bewildering, suspicious plots engineered by those who have sought to exploit it, enabling the country to truly emerge into the long-awaited state of resurrection.

Based on President Trump’s statements, the Lebanese lobby in the United States—comprising many of the President’s successful friends who possess considerable influence—is called upon to remain aligned with President Trump’s positions, thereby prompting the US administration to make decisions that serve Lebanon’s interests.

Consequently, it is only natural for Lebanese-Americans to monitor the US opening with skill and a systematic approach aimed at leveraging bilateral relations. This effort will inject new vitality into the trembling body of the homeland and frame America’s engagement, under President Trump’s leadership, as a service to Lebanon’s political, security, and economic interests, within organizational frameworks that undeniably benefit the public good.

In this way, Lebanon can ensure its stability, safeguard its democracy and freedom of decision-making, and devote itself to sustainable development, thereby establishing justice and dignity for its people.

Thank you, Mr. President Trump, for your interest in Lebanon and your support for its legitimate authority. Your stance toward our country, which we deeply appreciate and value, motivates us to urge you to fulfill your promises without delay, so that prosperity and well-being may return to our homeland, and our generations may enjoy peace and a better tomorrow.

Lebanese writer and university professor