Geagea Warns: Authorities' Hesitation Will Cost Lebanon Dearly

Lebanese Forces party leader Samir Geagea said that if the government continues to hesitate and delay its decisions regarding the establishment of an actual state in Lebanon, it will bear the responsibility for Lebanon, the nation and the state, being thrown into the wind once again.

He added: “The statements of the US envoy to Syria and Lebanon, Tom Barrack, is at the disposal of the Lebanese government and authority. It is evident that international politics as a whole, in conjunction with a near-consensus of Arab countries, is working to organize the situation in the region to free it from the abnormal conditions that existed in some of its countries to become normal states, starting with Iran and not ending with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey. International politics cannot tolerate a vacuum, and any country that is unable to organize its situation and restore order to its constitution, institutions, and operations as an actual state will be out of the race and on the margins of history.”

Geagea recalled that in the early 1990s, when international politics found that the Taif state that emerged in Lebanon following the civil war was deficient, Lebanon was subcontracted to Assad's Syria, questioning whether this will be repeated once again if the Lebanese government and authorities push international and Arab politics in that direction due to the apparent shortcomings of the Lebanese state.

"The days we are living are very important, critical, and fateful, and any continued failure by the Lebanese authorities and government to transform Lebanon into an actual state could set us back decades," cautioned Geagea.

He concluded: "The Lebanese authorities must make up their minds as quickly as possible and take the practical steps required to transform Lebanon into a real state that alone can be a guarantee for all Lebanese constituencies. Otherwise, Lebanon will remain a battlefield and be exposed to further violations."