Lebanese MP: Army chief should be removed if he can’t disarm Hezbollah

A Lebanese member of parliament argues that the country’s military chief should be removed from his position if he is unable to disarm Hezbollah.

Appearing on the “Decision Points” podcast of Washington Institute for Near East Policy fellow David Makovsky, Fouad Makhzoumi is asked if Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Rodolphe Haykal should be removed from his post if he doesn’t fulfill the government’s directive to disarm Hezbollah.

Makhzoumi says Haykal reports to the Lebanese president and the cabinet: “At the end of the day, we are asking them to deliver. If he doesn’t, yes, he has to be removed.”

Makhzoumi represents a one-man secular party in the Lebanese parliament, so it’s unclear how widespread his views are, but calls for Haykal’s ouster — in the event that he fails to deliver — are rare.

Haykal presented a five-phase roadmap for disarming Hezbollah last year, but he has faced criticism for the plan’s lack of clear timeline. Moreover, he announced earlier this year that the LAF had succeeded in disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River, 20 to 30 kilometers from the border with Israel.

That declaration proved to be wildly overstated in recent months, given Hezbollah’s repeated firing at Israel from the south of the country during the Iran war.

Haykal’s defenders note that he has been given a highly difficult task, given the degree to which Hezbollah has embedded itself in the fabric of Lebanese society. They argue that a rushed disarmament process could spark another civil war in Lebanon.