The Lebanese Armed Forces alone have the power to protect Lebanon from external and internal military threats and terrorist organizations

The Lebanese Armed Forces alone have the power to protect Lebanon from external and internal military threats and terrorist organizations

A Sovereign Diplomacy That Ensures Peace and Stability

1.Defense strategy

2.Armed Forces: Budget, military armament, military personnel

1.Defense Budgets

2.Military manpower

3.Global Firepower Index (GFP, 55 factors)

1.The Lebanese Army remains trapped in the inextricable politics of Lebanon, vis-à-vis Hezbollah’s territorial control

2.With the extension of the war in Syria, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has been increasingly involved in border operations to contain cross-border clashes and dislodge jihadi groups

3.Budget cuts undermine the LAF capability to fulfil all its duties

4.Despite on-going support from many countries, the LAF are not equipped with adequate armament

5.Military personnel: 116,000

1.Discussions on the Lebanese Army generally involve two competing views. On the one hand, pessimists dismiss the LAF as a weak actor of Lebanese politics, cooperating with – if not infiltrated by – Hezbollah, while on the other hand, optimists emphasize both its latest progress at the warfighting level and its positive perception across communities in an increasingly polarized Lebanese society. Not surprisingly, the reality may be found somewhere in between

2.The State does not have the monopoly over war and peace decisions, nor over the national defense strategy

3.The interests of the enemy state of Israel prevents Lebanon from acquiring adequate military equipment

1.Recent reports from the frontlines at the Syrian-Lebanese borders indicate a strong performance on the part of the Lebanese Army that would not have been possible years ago, as was already proven by the fighting and sacrificial spirit of the LAF soldiers and the success of the army in Nahr El Bared in 2007

2.With the extension of the war in Syria, the Lebanese Army has been increasingly involved in border operations to contain cross-border clashes and dislodge jihadi groups

3.Live fire exercises are conducted regularly between the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL with the aim of honing the skills and expertise of the military units

Policy Action

1.Make the peace and war decision-making under the exclusive authority of the Lebanese government

2.Develop a defense strategy that takes into account Lebanon's capabilities, geography, the nature of the Israeli enemy, and other dangers to its sovereignty, within a maximum period of one year

3.Strengthen and train the LAF so is has the power to protect Lebanon form external military threats, internal terrorist organizations and isolated terrorist actions:

• Equip the army with appropriate weapons from any available source without any political consideration other than Lebanon's defense

4.Limit arms in the hands of Lebanese legitimate armed forces,

• Disarm all non-state actors
• Allow all resistance fighters wishing to enroll in the armed forces to do so, and their numbers will be determined in a later stage.

5.Organize a military or civil service within the armed forces to hold all citizens responsible for the defense of Lebanon