Aoun seeks to agree on an exclusive arms plan

The anticipation is awaiting the government meeting this afternoon, amid talk of continuous efforts led by the President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, to link the army’s plan to political consensus on the one hand, and the lack of commitment to specific dates on the other hand, based on the public Israeli rejection of the Tom Barak paper that Lebanon accepted and became a solution to its commitment to it after the Israeli rejection, including the time schedules contained in the paper.
David Ramal wrote in “Kuwaiti News”: The controversy that preceded the cabinet session today was not on Friday about the participation of Shiite ministers in his place, after the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, succeeded in resolving this controversy through extensive contacts with the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, which led to the overcoming of obstacles and ensuring the session with a full quorum.
A senior Lebanese political source said: “The President of the Republic managed the file wisely, as on the one hand, on the one hand, he adhered to the principle of the exclusive weapon in the hands of the state, and on the other hand the need not to break the internal balances, so he was able to collect contradictory positions on a moderate formula that opens the door to the discussion without imposing a binding schedule.”
The source pointed out that «this consensus came as a result of complicated contacts between Berri and the leadership of the party on the one hand, and Aoun and Salam on the other hand. Berri did not close the door to the debate about the party’s weapon, but he stressed that this discussion should be part of a national defensive strategy, not just a government decision. On the other hand, Aoun adhered to the plan that reflects a previous sovereign decision taken by the Council of Ministers and it is not permissible to retreat from it, especially as it meets clear Arab and international support, and represents a permissibility for Lebanon towards restoring the confidence of the international community.
The source saw that “the retreat from the plan at this stage will constitute a severe blow to Lebanon’s credibility, and will put it outside the circle of international attention, and that adherence to it is not subject to any external pressure, but rather reflects a Lebanese consensus on the need for the state to simplify its power over its entire lands, in line with Resolution 1701, which constitutes the international framework to protect Lebanon and its economic and political vitality.”
Although the dispute over the application mechanism was not finalized, the mere meeting of the session in this way indicates that President Aoun’s approach is based on imposing solutions from the location of the ruling that requires him to be a fair president between all the parties .. The plan itself did not enter into accurate logistical details, but rather identifying the general titles that allow the army to move according to its field estimates, and this is what some forces considered to be a guarantee that it would not be guaranteed. A tool to press one tip without another.
In conclusion, President Aoun managed to contain a political crisis that would have exploded the government if today’s session failed, proving that his initiative to reconcile the parties reinstall the principle of exclusive weapons as an inclusive item, even with its minimum limits. But what is achieved remains a more phased settlement than a final agreement, which means that the controversy over the implementation of the plan will remain open in the coming weeks, and that the army’s ability to transform this difficult consensus into a practical path will remain the most difficult bet for the Lebanese state.