Former US official Schenker: No viable alternative to Hezbollah disarmament

Former US Under Secretary of State David Schenker delivered a stark warning Wednesday: Lebanon must disarm Hezbollah,  or face the consequences of Israeli bombardment indefinitely.

"I am convinced there is a way out of this war,  if Lebanon negotiates with Israel," Schenker told Lebanese channel Al-Jadeed. "Otherwise, Lebanon risks paying the price of its inaction, caught between a rock and a hard place."

Schenker - who mediated the 2020 Lebanon-Israel maritime border negotiations - was blunt about the Lebanese army's failure to act. Washington has poured millions of dollars annually into the Lebanese Armed Forces since 2005. The army has the capability to move against Hezbollah. What it lacks, Schenker argued, is the will.

Army commander Rodolphe Haykal has faced sharp criticism from Washington for refusing to use force against the Shiite militia,  a hesitation that has left both Israel and the US unconvinced that Beirut would ever move to the second phase of disarmament, north of the Litani.

"At some point, the army must take risks,  that is its role. Who else will do it but the state?"

Hezbollah Imposed This War on Lebanon

Schenker was unambiguous about responsibility: "Hezbollah imposed this war on Lebanon." The Lebanese authorities' decision to disarm the militia came too late, was implemented too slowly and "lacked dynamism », leaving no credibility with Washington or Jerusalem.

Israel's war objectives, he explained, include ending the presence of Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Lebanese soil. Achieving that, he said, could open the door to "good neighborly relations" between Lebanon and Israel.

The choice facing Lebanon, according to Schenker, is binary: disarm Hezbollah and negotiate, or remain "in a state of permanent war with Israel."

"The situation will be even worse if Hezbollah retains control over decisions of war and peace. There is no viable alternative to disarmament."