Who is Lebanon’s ‘Mr Nice Guy’, General Joesph Aoun?

Alameen Templeton
Who is General Joseph Aoun, the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), who is Washington’s preferred candidate to take over the country’s presidency, a post that has remained vacant since 2022?
He’s quite a popular guy. Over the last week, he’s met Amos Hochstein, the new US “special envoy” to Lebanon, he’s met the head of Spain’s armed forces and has hunkered down with Russian military strategists as well as Canadian army officers.
Egypt, the EU, and several opposition Lebanese parties speak well of him. When the government voted to extend Aoun’s latest term as head of the LAF, the proposal was mainly endorsed by the Lebanese Opposition, the Amal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party.
Lebanon’s ‘less-useless’ army
They’re usually at odds with Phalangist leader of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea. But Geagea in 2022 suggested Aoun take over the presidency.
The Economist a few weeks ago said in a headline Aoun headed up the Lebanese army that was “less-useless than it’s reputation suggests”.
It observed: “In a country that has just been invaded by Israel, you might expect soldiers to be manning watchtowers. In Lebanon, they are just as likely to be spotted driving taxis.
“With money tight and morale low, General Joseph Aoun, the army chief, is letting his roughly 80,000 soldiers bunk off from duty several days a week to supplement their meagre wages, which have fallen to as little as $100 a month since the country’s economic meltdown in 2019.
“This pragmatic policy has stopped soldiers from defecting completely, so they show up to work at least on the days they are not officially moonlighting. That has kept Lebanon’s army functioning even as just about everything else resembling a state has crumbled around it.”
So, he’s a pragmatist in a country with an almost non-existent economy and a rag-tag collection of soldiers who moonlight as taxi drivers.
America’s ‘attack dog’?
He’s a Maronite Christian who has received military and university training in the US and is regularly hosted there by Congress and senior politicians from both sides of the house.
The big question, however, is if he’s willing, like so many “politicians” in the beggared country, to be America’s attack dog, a role someone like Geagea would love to shoulder.
Clearly, that’s the role Washington would like, or expects, him to play.
Al-Akhbar reports US ambassador to Lebanon, Lisa Johnson three weeks ago encouraged her Lebanese allies to advocate for the election of Aoun as President of Lebanon, saying, “He [Aoun] will appoint a strong commander for the Lebanese Army, and we will support the Army in restraining all Hezbollah supporters. You will have backing from Arab states and the West. But the time to act is now.”
She added: “Israel cannot achieve everything through war; it’s time for you to do your part and launch an internal uprising under the banner of ‘Enough.’”
The ambassador added, “The Lebanese people must show their desire to rise up and get rid of Hezbollah and return to the context that emerged after the assassination of Rafik Hariri, especially since the regional, international, and field circumstances are in your favor.”
Lebanese security sources told Al-Akhbar US provocateurs were active in stoking community tensions in areas that had given shelter to mainly Shia refugees from southern Lebanon.
Eating away at Hezbollah’s support
Clearly, Washington and its allies are hoping Aoun will at the very least weaken Hezbollah’s solid support among a wide range of the Lebanese population. His army is not capable of directly confronting Hezbollah, even if it wanted to, but weakening support for it at a crucial juncture could prove pivotal, The Cradle notes.
Israel wants the right to take any military action it choses in southern Lebanon in a proposed peace deal, along with “freedom of the skies” to attack any target north of its border.
Al-Mayadeen Thursday notes, with approval, Aoun said the LAF would remain deployed in the South, reassuring the country it would not abandon the region as it operated alongside the UN Interim Force in Lebanon under Resolution 1701.
“He emphasized the army’s commitment to protecting Lebanon’s security, stability, and sovereignty, and its role as a unifying force for all Lebanese communities,” Al-Mayadeen says.
It added: “The army, as per the General, aims to be a trusted refuge for the people, with the hope that Lebanon’s institutions will regain strength and stability, restoring confidence among both residents and expatriates.
“This, he added, is essential for Lebanon to meet the aspirations and hopes of its youth.
“He emphasized that the army will continue fulfilling its national duty, carrying out its missions amid ongoing difficulties and dangers.”
Unifying role
So, it seems Aoun would like to be a unifying force in Lebanon that is so susceptible to violent divisions along sectarian lines, with about 40% of the country identifying as Maronite Christian and the rest divided evenly between Sunni and Shia.
It’s a role he seems determined to play as military leader. But he may find himself facing tougher battles if he takes on the role of President, a post that is reserved for a Christian in Lebanon’s proportional representation system. The Prime Minister is always Sunni and the Speaker is always from the Shia population
Qatar has declared support for his candidacy a few weeks ago while promising to support the army with financial and military aid. As mentioned, the US has also voiced its choice.
A 5-nation group was formed by the Doha envoy which involved the United States, France, KSA, and Egypt to hold talks and “solve” the presidential vacancy in Lebanon. Most of those US allies affirmed support for the election of Aoun.
Wikileaks reports: “Despite this Aoun said during a meeting with a delegation from the Press Syndicate when asked about his candidacy, ‘I don’t care about it, it doesn’t concern me, no one has discussed it with me and I haven’t discussed it with anyone.’