"Report: Officials act to spare Lebanon war as ceasefire committee urges arms timetable"
This is the headline from an article dated 06/14/25 from the Lebanese news site Naharnet. The countries that make up the ceasefire committee have apparently made demands that Lebanon should remain "neutral" regarding the Israel/Iran conflict. They are also urging a timetable be produced by the government for the handover of all "illegal" weapons. Let's hope that the Lebanese government is able to hold to all of this. As the article notes:
" Lebanese officials meanwhile told the newspaper that Lebanon has carried out contacts with foreign powers in order to avoid war, specifically with the U.S. and France, and that “an agreement was reached on Lebanon’s neutrality.”
Moreover, political authorities gave the Lebanese Army a green light, especially in south Lebanon, and a state of maximum alert was declared as Hezbollah “responded positively” to the request for staying out of the conflict, Lebanese officials told the daily."
OK that all sounds good on the surface but let's remember that the committee is supposed to be even handed regarding their work.
So the government of Lebanon has declared that it will remain neutral, Hezbollah has said they will not make attacks against the IDF or Israeli territory. So how is it that the world media is so incredibly ignorant or compromised that nobody, including even in the Lebanese press, is saying to the US and others "You want Lebanon to be a completely neutral state in all conflicts. But when we commit to that you make no guarantees of respecting our neutrality? You still wish to continue attacks, you still wish to have all of your clandestine intelligence operatives in our country and yet you think this is how to treat someone who agrees with your demands to be neutral? You provide no reciprocal "timetable" for getting the hell out and leaving us alone from your clandestine operations regarding our internal affairs. So how is your conduct anything other than one-sided?"
But this has been the problem of the conduct of the West, mainly the US/British/French, for many, many decades not only in the Middle East but in countries around the world. They place intelligence operatives in countries to spy/manipulate/interfere in internal affairs of countries while at the same time demanding things like either neutrality or outright support for Western interests. The US foments coups to overthrow governments they don't like while at the same time decrying such activity by others. US foreign policy has spoken out of both sides of it's mouth for well over a century. For the British and French it is multiple centuries.
The point being that the old Colonialists have only modified their approach to dominating other countries they have never truly left other countries free and clear to determine their independence path as they see fit. Various factions and groups in countries are always vying for power, control and change but the Western nations methods are to use groups and support them with money, weapons and intelligence while doing what they can to harm the groups they don't like. I am not talking about groups like Hezbollah but rather some of the groups like the Druze, rabid right wing groups in Latin America etc. and all the while the US and other powers know full well that today they support groups and tomorrow will support attacking those same groups. Nobody in their right mind should trust any agreement or believe any words of "wanting the best for the people" and other such phony pronouncements.
The Lebanese government has little choice after being so tremendously weakened for so many years, with the US etc. playing a huge part in that weakening, but media or truly neutral actors aren't constrained from calling things out for what they are. Perhaps they have just grown to accept this constant cycle perpetuated by and for foreign interests.
Either way the violence and attacks never end because the system being perpetuated is structured to always have repeats and people making billions of dollars selling the means to attack the people in those countries. So the US and others should just stop with the BS lines about wanting "peace". They want eternal influence and meddling. It would just be refreshing if one of them admitted it instead of constantly claiming the lie of wanting "peace and what's best for the people." They want what is best for themselves whether it is resources, markets or strategic placement of military assets.
Good luck Lebanon. With supposedly evenhanded "helpers" like this you sure are going to need it.
https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/313527-report-officials-act-to-spare-lebanon-war-as-ceasefire-committee-urges-arms-timetable