Read on Twitter
THREAD
When I suggest to my Lebanese friends about that Hezbollah needs to be dealt with, a common answer is "We can't, they're Lebanese." 1/n
When I suggest to my Lebanese friends about that Hezbollah needs to be dealt with, a common answer is "We can't, they're Lebanese." 1/n
I would argue that the fact that they carry Lebanese citizenship is *more*, *not less* of a reason to deal with them. 2/n
Throughout modern history, Lebanon has been occupied several times. If and when the invader was foreign *and* Jewish, Lebanon resorted to the UN for relief. 3/n
Although not Jewish, the current occupation of Lebanon is foreign. The fact that the occupation's mercenaries of the ground are Lebanese citizens is by design: to avoid the country resorting to the UN for relief. 4/n
In fact, twenty-first century Lebanon is perfectly following the arc of Vichy France, having started as a client state and more recently becoming a vassal state of Iran. 5/n
Similarly, Hezbollah are Lebanon's collabos. The fact that they carry Lebanese citizenship doesn't make them immune from prosecution but, instead, increases their criminal exposure. 6/n
While a foreign mercenary force undermining and then taking over the reins of power can only be deterred militarily, home-grown mercenaries' subversive activities render them liable also to treason liability. 7/n
So, what remains of the Lebanese State has available a two-pronged defense against the occupation. The first is to establish a government-in-exile (à la France Libre) to plead for Liberation with the UN, other multilateral organizations, and friendly governments. 8/n
The second, is the leveraging of the unequivocal message that, when the country is free, the collabos will be exposed to the same type of criminal liability as their Vichy predecessors were. That, in itself will guarantee their flight to Syria once the cards start turning. 9/n
Lebanese civil society needs to understand that, far from being helpless, it holds powerful cards. A leader-in-exile needs to emerge to weave an alliance of friends of Lebanon to assist in the military dimension of the riddance. 10/n
The rest will be accomplished by the enforcement of Lebanon's laws by fair courts. 11/11
