SAEDNEWS: The United States has put Beirut on notice: curb Hezbollah’s arsenal or risk reincorporation into “Bilād al‑Shām,” as Damascus’s influence swells.
according to Saed News, When Washington’s special envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, tweeted on July 13 that Lebanon must address Hezbollah’s ever‑growing weapons stockpiles or face reintegration into “Bilād al‑Shām,” he left little doubt as to American patience. His warning—in effect a blunt ultimatum—followed Damascus’s diplomatic rehabilitation, prompted by Washington’s decision to suspend sanctions on the Syrian regime.
Diplomatically, the move marks a shift from America’s long‑standing posture of strategic ambiguity towards Lebanon’s militia‑state. By invoking the spectre of Greater Syria, Mr Barrack aimed to concentrate Lebanese minds on the geopolitical choice at hand: acquiesce to disarming Hezbollah’s armed wing, or cede ground—literally and figuratively—to a resurgent Syria.
Back in Washington, the State Department and Justice Department convened Europol and other international agencies to tighten financial and law‑enforcement nooses around Hezbollah’s global networks. Yet inside Beirut, many view the envoy’s rhetoric as overreach. European partners, keen to preserve UNIFIL’s mandate on the Lebanon–Israel border, fear the unraveling of peacekeeping efforts should America press its veto against renewing the mission next August.
For Lebanese politicians, Mr Barrack’s return on July 23 looms large. They must decide whether to acquiesce to U.S. demands—or risk isolation. In a country where governance is a delicate balancing act among sectarian factions, the choice before them is stark: rein in Hezbollah, or watch as foreign powers redraw Lebanon’s map.
