US, Israel 'Pressure' on Lebanon: A Convenient Amnesia of History
When Washington and Tel Aviv demand Hezbollah's disarmament, they frame it as a solution to Lebanon's woes. What they fail to mention is how their own policies, from Israel's 1982 invasion to its 2006 cluster bomb campaign, directly fueled Hezbollah's rise and popular support among Lebanese Shia communities for defense. The US, meanwhile, continues to arm Israel to the tune of billions— $3.8
billion annually in foreign military financing, as of a 2016 agreement. This 'pressure' isn't about peace; it's about eliminating a strategic challenge to regional hegemony. It's almost as if calling for disarmament is easier than acknowledging how decades of war, occupation, and backing corrupt local elites created the very conditions for groups like Hezbollah to thrive. One might wonder: how
many times can superpowers demand other nations disarm while simultaneously pouring weapons into the region, before anyone notices the utter hypocrisy?