Over 1 billion dollars were pledged in humanitarian and military support for Lebanon at the Paris conference yesterday, including $200 million dollars for the security forces. The US pledged to provide $300 million, France and Germany each around $100 million, while Italy will provide $10 million.
While Lebanon needs all the help it can get to manage the repercussions of the ongoing war, we don’t want to pay once again for Macron’s political adventures, and it’s almost sure that this money will get stolen like it always does due to the lack of transparency and corruption risks. We don’t have a president since two years now, and an ill-prepared government to deal with the crisis among other things.
The only positive point is the one regarding strengthening Lebanon’s armed forces, as the army is one of the few remaining functioning and reliable institutions in Lebanon, and implementing any future ceasefire will depend on the UNIFIL troops and the Lebanese Army.
Let’s wait and see what the future unfolds and hope that Lebanon’s fate won’t always be ruled by corruption and war.