The Emirati website “Erm News” published a new report in which it talked about the scenes of a plan drawn up by the American envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, regarding Syria and “Hezbollah,” noting that the American president revived that plan.
The report quoted Lebanese diplomatic sources as saying that Trump’s recent talk to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about allowing Syria to deal with the Lebanese Hezbollah reflects an integrated plan that Barak had put forward a year and a half ago.
The sources revealed that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun informed the American administration of his refusal to support this model inside Lebanon, through official letters to Washington and during his visit to the United States last year, considering that such a proposal entails a violation of the country’s sovereignty.
Trump had called on Netanyahu to be “responsible regarding Lebanon” and allow Syria to “deal with Hezbollah,” which, in his words, still represents a problem for the region, noting at the same time that the Israeli response has gone beyond limits and may threaten the stability of the Middle East.
During his participation in the Group of Seven (G7) summit, Trump considered Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa “very capable” of dealing with “Hezbollah,” describing it as “very good for me,” adding that if Israel is unable to carry out these operations without killing all the others, Al-Sharaa will do the job.”
In this context, a high-ranking Lebanese diplomatic source revealed an action plan that Barak put together more than a year and a half ago, and submitted it to Trump and officials in the US National Security Council, which stipulates that the Syrian army would assume the task of fighting “Hezbollah” inside Lebanese territory, but it faced rejection from advisors to the US president.
The source added that Barak presented some features of this plan to the Lebanese president last summer, but the Lebanese responses were dismissive and were accompanied by clear messages of objection to the American administration. Also, Aoun’s position was supported by Arab countries that take a position on Hezbollah, but they see any infringement on Lebanon’s sovereignty as a dangerous matter.
According to the diplomatic source, the plan is based on signing cooperation agreements between Syria and Lebanon to implement joint military operations that bring together Syrian forces with the Lebanese army, so that they assume advanced roles in confronting Hezbollah and ending its military capabilities, indicating that Barak also seeks to strengthen the regional role of Ahmed al-Sharaa and give him a presence in influential files.
Last year, Barak presented an American working paper on implementing international resolutions in Lebanon, most notably Resolution 1701. He also called on the Lebanese government to work to disarm Hezbollah and implement political and security reforms.
In turn, the Lebanese military expert, Brigadier General Marcel Balukji, believed that Trump’s statements regarding assigning the task of dealing with “Hezbollah” to Syria are nothing more than a “blackmail operation” for both Lebanon and Israel with the aim of pushing towards new solutions and approaches, especially within the framework of the ongoing negotiations under American auspices, in which the issue of disarming the party is one of its main axes.
Baloukji added to “Erm News” that Trump realizes that any step of this kind may lead to the eruption of a Sunni-Shiite dispute that will quickly turn into a civil war extending from the northern Bekaa to Akkar, especially since the experience of the Syrian intervention in Lebanon carries a negative legacy, and that about 90 percent of the Lebanese refuse to repeat it.
He pointed out that any official Syrian-Lebanese cooperation against Hezbollah, if it occurs, will not go beyond limited military operations on the lines of contact, in coordination with Lebanese institutions, and at an advanced stage of time. He warned that Syrian intervention remains a very sensitive issue after the fall of the Assad regime, and may open the door to a broad confrontation extending from Iraq through Syria.
