By Emma Graham & Hadley Gamble -- cnbc.com -- Lebanon’s armed forces need an immediate $100 million to cover its soldiers’ basic needs, a general told CNBC, as a currency crisis pushes their salaries below the poverty line. His comments come as the country’s military tries to avoid collapse. “Without the morale and the motivation of our soldiers, it’s going to impact negatively the mission,” Brig. Gen. Youssef Haddad told CNBC. “If the army collapses, Lebanon will be lost.” He said that by September, the army will be in a “critical condition.” The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) pay the equivalent of $84 dollars per month to enlisted soldiers based on the exchange rate of 15,500 Lebanese pounds per U.S. dollar. With the currency now approaching 20,000 LBP to the dollar on the black market, that salary now places the average soldier below the poverty line. Haddad said each soldier needs “an additional bonus to help him cover his basic needs on a monthly basis for 12 months” — which should total around $90 million to $100 million, he said.

نعتذر من الشهداء نعتذر  من المرضى والفقراء المعدمين نعتذر من البطريرك الحويك نعتذر من رجال الاستقلال نعتذر من الحيش اللبناني من فرنسا …

سجعان قزي

وزير سابق

@AzziSejean

لا نستطيعُ أن نكونَ تَبعيّين ونُطالبَ العالمَ أن يتعاطى معنا على أنّنا مستقلّون. نَستَفْظِعُ تدخّلَ دولٍ أجنبيّةٍ في الأزْمةِ بقَصْدِ معالجتِها، ولا نَستَهْجِنُ تَدخُّلَ دولٍ أخرى في لبنانَ لإشعالِ الأزَمات. فلولا الدولُ التي اسْتباحَت لبنانَ ودَمَّرته، لما أباحَت الدولُ الأخرى لنفسِها معالجةَ شأنِنا بغيةَ إنقاذِنا. الأولى تدخّلَت رَغمًا عنّا والأُخرى بِناءً على إلحاحِنا. في لبنانَ مَن يَحمِلُ الفأسَ لقطعِ أيِّ يدٍ تَمتدُّ مساعِدةً، كأنَّ هدفَ هؤلاءِ قتلُ لبنانَ الكبير بما يُمثِّلُ من خصائصَ، وأنَّ مشروعَهم نقلُ لبنانَ من التعدُّديّةِ في الوِحدةِ إلى التعدُّديّةِ في الأحَدِيّة. إنَّ من يأتي بوصايةٍ من هنا، يجب أنْ يَنتظرَ وصايةً من هناك.

هذا تاريخُ لبنانَ مُذْ كان. فالشعوبُ تتحرّكُ عمومًا في دورةٍ تاريخيّةٍ تُكرِّرُ دورانَها بأشكالٍ مختلفةٍ. ولا تتوقّفُ هذه الدورةُ إلا حين يَنطلقُ الشعبُ في مسارٍ مستقبليٍّ جديدٍ يدوم رَدْحًا زمنيًّا ثابتًا وناجحًا يُمكِّنُه من خلقِ دورةٍ تاريخيّةٍ جديدة. نحن في لبنان، خَرجنا من دورتِنا التاريخيّةِ مدّةً غيرَ كافيةٍ (1943/1969) لخلقِ دورةٍ جديدةٍ، فالتَقطَتْنا الدورةُ السابقةُ وبَقِينا فيها. كأنَّ حتميّةَ التاريخِ أقوى من تقريرِ المصير.

By BY RUSSELL A. BERMAN, thehill.com -- Lebanon is facing a dangerous combination of accelerating crises — economic, political and societal. Although Lebanon is a small country, important issues for U.S. national interest and geo-strategy are at stake. Yet, currently, American Middle East foreign policy is devoted to the single obsession of the Iran negotiations, leaving little oxygen for other matters. This is a mistake. The Biden administration should develop a more nuanced engagement with the region and especially a robust response to Lebanon's pending collapse. The Lebanese currency has lost close to 90 percent of its value, pushing much of the country below the poverty line, with many families relying on remittances from relatives abroad. Yet even those lifelines cannot make up for the shortages in commodities: gasoline, medications and food are all in short supply. Add to this a crumbling infrastructure that can supply electricity for only a few hours every day. Meanwhile, a political stalemate blocks the formation of an effective government that could institute reforms that might alleviate some of the problems. Instead, the political class, largely viewed as incorrigibly corrupt, is making no effort to meet the needs of the public. One bright light is the emergence of vibrant oppositional forces. But they remain fragmented, and elections will not take place until next year.

Leadership change may therefore be too far in the future to rescue the crumbling institutions that once enjoyed a strong international reputation, especially Lebanese universities and hospitals. Now the talented personnel on which those institutions depend are trying to leave for better paying jobs abroad. After the troubled decades of civil war and occupations, after the devastation of COVID-19 and the massive destruction of the explosion in the port of Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, this already fragile country faces even greater disorder. Given the extent of the suffering, there is every reason to provide humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, as the United States is already doing. The U.S. also provides important training support to the Lebanese armed forces, although the scope of that mission has been shrinking. Otherwise, American engagement is quite limited. Washington should do more and put Lebanon higher on the list of foreign policy priorities for four reasons