Lebanese soldiers marching on Nov. 22, 2019 in Beirut, on the occasion of Independence Day. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
"I hope we will restore mandatory military service, because it could strengthen unity among Lebanese." All it took was for army commander Rodolphe Haykal to make this remark to a television channel a few days ago for a flurry of reactions to be triggered.While some support the reinstatement of conscription, which was suspended in 2007, others oppose it for reasons ranging from the economic and financial crisis shaking the country since 2019 to demographic concerns, particularly among Christians. Added to this are questions about the purpose of such an initiative in a tense political and military context, in which the military institution is struggling to enforce the monopoly on weapons. Read more Hezbollah’s weapons: The elephant in the room for Lebanon’s thawra Established in 1992, the one-year mandatory military service...
"I hope we will restore mandatory military service, because it could strengthen unity among Lebanese." All it took was for army commander Rodolphe Haykal to make this remark to a television channel a few days ago for a flurry of reactions to be triggered.While some support the reinstatement of conscription, which was suspended in 2007, others oppose it for reasons ranging from the economic and financial crisis shaking the country since 2019 to demographic concerns, particularly among Christians. Added to this are questions about the purpose of such an initiative in a tense political and military context, in which the military institution is struggling to enforce the monopoly on weapons. Read more Hezbollah’s weapons: The elephant in the room for Lebanon’s thawra Established in 1992, the one-year mandatory military...