Coincidentally on July 13— the 19th anniversary of the 2006 July war— Bambi read in the L’Orient Le Jour that Mr. Mahmoud Comati, Vice President of Hezbollah’s Political Council, stated the following: “If Hezbollah hands over its weapons, bye-bye to Lebanon’s sovereignty” (https://tinyurl.com/244w3uw4).
Keeping the above in mind, let’s put Hezbollah’s statement aside for now to examine the definition of the word “sovereignty”. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, “sovereignty is an abstract legal concept. It also has non-legal (political, social and economic) implications. In strictly legal terms, it describes the supreme power or authority of the state. It represents the highest source of the law” (https://tinyurl.com/4vvdty7s). Of note, this definition recognizes that “this strictly legal meaning is different from more popular usages (https://tinyurl.com/4vvdty7s).
Legal or popular, the fact is that Hezbollah’s weapons, and especially the decision to use them on the 8th of October, 2023 brought a foreign, hostile country back to Lebanon. This is making Bambi think of a sarcastic yet accurate comment made by Dr. Saleh El Machnouk where he stated that in Lebanon, where things are upside down compared to other countries, it is the resistance that brought the (latest) occupation, not vice versa. Whether we like Hezbollah or not, hate Israel or not, the last statement is sadly filled with truth. Of course, according to Hezbollah, the latter was supporting the Palestinian cause/innocent Gazans. In Bambi’s non-expert, humble, opinion it was to support Hamas rather, or indirectly Iran’s influence in Gaza.
Similarly, we observe the same pattern back in 2006 when the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, along the border, dragged the country into a cruel war. So, how do Hezbollah’s weapons ensure Lebanon’s sovereignty then?
Related to the above, some may be tempted to wonder what came first, the chicken or the egg? Regardless of any order, there is no sovereignty when a force in a country has illegal weapons that are sponsored by a foreign country for its own interests. In other terms, if Hezbollah still wants to remain committed to acting as Iran’s proxy, “bye-bye” to Lebanon’s sovereignty and safety.
