During a visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last March, Lebanese President Michel Aoun reportedly received a US-Israeli document detailing plans for creating a civil war in Lebanon, a report said.
In an article published on April 5, Geopolitics Alert reported on the secret document, based on a report by Lebanese TV channel Al-Jadeed. The report was months before the latest protests which started on October 17 and were calling for reforms and livelihood demands but were exploited then by suspicious foreign and local sides in Lebanon.
“The document detailed American plans to splinter the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF). The plans involve Washington investing 200 million dollars into ISF under the guise of keeping the peace but with the covert goal of creating sectarian conflict against Hezbollah with 2.5 million specifically dedicated to this purpose,” Geopolitics Alert reported.
The document stated that the ultimate goal was to destabilize the country by creating a civil war in Lebanon which will “help Israel on the international scene.”
“The United States and Israel plan to accomplish this by supporting ‘democratic forces,’ sounding remarkably similar to the same strategy used in Syria, Libya, Venezuela, and elsewhere,” according to the document.
The document noted that, although “full load of our firepower will be unleashed,” they somehow do not anticipate any casualties. They do, however, expect the civil war to “trigger requests” for intervention from the Israeli occupation forces, Geopolitics Alert reported, based on Al-Jadeed report.
During his meeting with Lebanese President Michael Aoun in March 2019, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo presented an ultimatum: contain Hezbollah or expect unprecedented consequences, the report said.
It cited the Foreign Policy as saying that Pompeo told Aoun that if he fails to complete the impossible task of removing Hezbollah from government institutions and cracking down on its military activities, Lebanon should expect an end to US aid and even potential sanctions.
“It will take courage for the nation of Lebanon to stand up to Hezbollah’s criminality, terror, and threats,” Pompeo reportedly said.
At a dinner, the top US official reportedly warned Lebanese officials that they themselves were potential targets for sanctions such as members of the Free Patriotic Movement, President Aoun’s party with the majority of its support coming from Lebanese Christians.
Geopolitics Alert’s report said that potential sanctions will likely first target the Lebanese Health Ministry “which is currently managed by an elected member of Hezbollah’s political party.”
However, the report cast doubts on the success of the US plan, noting that the ISF is not a ‘homogeneous group’.
“Members of Hezbollah and their Christian allies hold many positions not only in the ISF but throughout the Lebanese Army and several branches of government. The Lebanese constitution and political system require all sects have adequate representation in government. As such, a potential manufactured civil war would likely focus on re-writing the Lebanese constitution as a top priority,” the report said.
It reported that it was unclear if Pompeo’s staff presented Aoun with this document as a threat prior to their meeting, but stressed it was clear that the US and ‘Israel’ are plotting behind closed doors to create sectarian conflict in Lebanese society and its democratic political process, “similar to actions in Syria, Lybia, Yemen, Venezuela, Iran, and so on.”
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