Opinion

Lebanon today stands at a decisive historical crossroads. It has a rare and golden opportunity to rid itself, once and for all, of its most dangerous foe: Hezbollah—the Iranian-backed military organization that has dominated the country’s internal political life for over forty years. Under the false pretext of safeguarding Lebanon’s security and defending it against Israel, Hezbollah has instead brought havoc, destruction, economic collapse, and misery. Its track record clearly demonstrates total incompetence and impotence: it has failed to defend even a single inch of Lebanese territory or to inflict any serious strategic damage on Israel. Yet, despite its flagrant defeat and discomfiture, the organization continues to refuse compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

There are ample reasons to recoil from the term debellatio. This barbaric legal concept denotes, in international law, the subjugation of a state and its eradication through armed violence. It refers to a situation of complete military, political, and legal annihilation of a given country as a result of devastating warfare—such as that experienced by Carthage at the end of the Punic Wars, or Nazi Germany at the fall of Berlin in May 1945. And what about Lebanon? Is it not at risk of meeting a similar fate, supposedly in the name of the “acts of resistance” of the Hezb? Normalization, but at what cost?

“And David danced before the Lord with all his might.” (2 Samuel 6:14) Dancing is not incompatible with prayer. On the contrary, gospel music perfectly illustrates how singing and dancing, even during liturgical mass, can create an atmosphere of communion and celebration. “Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to Him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.” (Psalm 33:2–3) There is a priest who understood that in our time, the most effective way to reach crowds and especially young people is through music. When the Book of Psalms was written, the loudest instrument appears to have been the ten-stringed lyre. This priest replaced it with electronic music. His name is Padre Guilherme, known today as the DJ priest.

Who ever said Hezbollah thrived only on skirmishes and armed conflict? Since the 1990s, it has been steadily “Lebanonizing” itself—smoothing its rough edges, choosing the language of compromise. Or at least pretending to, simply to muddy the waters. At the outset—at the moment of its creation—Hezbollah made no effort to hide its hand. It openly proclaimed its ambition to establish a regime modeled word for word on Khomeini’s. From there, it distanced itself entirely from the Lebanese political sphere, dismissing it as an unworthy arena fit only for unbelievers. But then, reconsidering its approach, it embarked—cleverly and deliberately—on a long-term project to burrow into the Lebanese state apparatus. So much so that by 2005 it had secured a fatwa from Sheikh Afif al-Nabulsi legitimizing its participation in government.

As the holidays come to an end, anxiety once again settles over the Lebanese, crystallizing around a question that has become existential: is Lebanon heading toward a new war, or will the country remain trapped in a fragile truce, liable to collapse at any moment? Yet this question, as crucial as it is, no longer suffices on its own. Behind it looms a deeper, more perilous one: if military initiative comes from the Israeli side, and Hezbollah has refrained from responding since the ceasefire, is this a sign of incapacity or of choice? And who, in the first place, holds the right to decide matters of war and peace in Lebanon?

In Lebanon, politics is no longer measured by results or the extent to which national interests are protected, but rather by the loudness of one's voice, the intensity of one's rhetoric, and the ability of an official to appease the instincts of a divided and exhausted public. In this climate, any minister who chooses calm, cool-headed thinking, and working without grandstanding becomes a potential target of constant accusation. This is precisely what Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi is facing, as he is subjected to a campaign of criticism inseparable from a deeper crisis afflicting the very concept of the state.

President Joseph Aoun's meeting with a delegation from "Journalists for Freedom" was not merely a protocolary occasion or a platform for conveying declared positions. Rather, it constituted a political event in its own right, its significance extending beyond the content of the speeches to what it reveals about the presidency's mindset, priorities, and the boundaries of engagement it chooses at this stage. The most important aspect of the meeting is not "what the president said," but why he said it, how he said it, and to whom. First: The meeting as a political act, not a media gathering The choice of a media delegation—neither partisan nor diplomatic—reflects a conscious decision to manage the political situation directly through public opinion. The presidency is not addressing a specific adversary, but rather an environment saturated with leaks and rumors, and it treats the media as a partner in shaping the political climate, not merely a conduit.

The following question was posed to one of the artificial intelligence programs: Has the Levant ever experienced a true period of peace since its existence? The answer is grim. The region has known periods of calm, but never lasting peace. The only period that can be described as stable was the Pax Romana , from the first to the third century. A peace imposed by the sword, a pax manu militari . A peace at the price of blood, the toll of which even artificial intelligence would be unable to assess. The various conflicts were motivated primarily by religious reasons, linked to other political or territorial considerations.

In the French baccalaureate history textbook, there's a chapter on page 138 entitled "The Birth of the State of Israel." However, strangely enough, it jumps from page 137 to page 140, with the two pages of the aforementioned chapter stuck together. This way, our children will be spared learning about the creation of a country that our own refuses to recognize, and therefore doesn't officially exist… Imagine the results on the baccalaureate exam if this topic is ever asked. Meanwhile, the army of this non-existent country is decimating everything in its path or during its overflights. One might conclude that we are being attacked by ghosts or spirits. We don't need regular forces or so-called paramilitary "resistance," but an exorcist.

Your Holiness, You kindly chose this country of the Levant as your first destination after your election as head of the Catholic Church. We thank you for that! Your presence here resembled the shadow of a white cloud gliding through a dark sky that has been overcast for far too long, letting its light shine upon this geographical space described in history books as the land of milk and honey, the land of hospitality and conviviality, the land of the eternal Cedar—majestic, strong, and unwavering. A land of encounter and exchange among cultures and diverse communities; a land of life, love, and peace, regularly attacked and often violated.