US Diplomat Calls for Direct Clash between Lebanese Army and Hezbollah
David Schenker, former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affair, considered that this would be the best time to disarm Hezbollah, provoking the Lebanese to engage in an internal strife for the sake of the US-Israeli interests.
In an article published by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and titled 'There Is No Better Time to Disarm Hezbollah', Schenker said that national dialogue proposed by the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will waste the 'historical chance' to demilitarize the Resistance in Lebanon.
'As in previous failed national dialogues, it appears that Hezbollah is once again embracing talks as a delay tactic.'
Schenker presented the political approach of President Aoun, who is committed to sustaining the national unity, as a failed strategy that will fail to disarm Hezbollah.
The former US diplomat, well-known for his pro-Israeli stances, also said that Aoun's talk about integrating some of Hezbollah fighters into the Lebanese Army is rejected with respect to the US administration and the Zionist government.
Finally Schenker expected that if the Lebanese government persists and broadens its efforts against Hezbollah, there will be a violent clash. However, he said, 'Despite the risks, however, there will never be a more favorable time to disarm Hezbollah—with or without its consent—than now.'
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