US Ambassador Tom Barrack had blunt words for Lebanon on Saturday, repeatedly calling the country a “failed state,” dubbing its leaders “dinosaurs” and saying that it probably won’t be able to comply with the central US demand that it disarm Hezbollah.

Barrack, who serves as the US envoy for Syria and the ambassador to Turkey, while also handling some diplomacy with Beirut, made the remarks in an appearance at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue, a diplomatic and security conference in Bahrain.

He also repeatedly urged Lebanon and Syria to forge accords with Israel as part of what he called a greater regional “realignment.” But tensions between Israel and Lebanon have risen as Hezbollah appears to be rearming, and Israel continues to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what it says are ceasefire violations by the terror group.

“Lebanon is a failed state,” Barrack said near the beginning of a question-and-answer session, proceeding to enumerate problems in Lebanon’s banking sector and basic infrastructure. Near the end of the appearance, he added, “You’ve had abject chaos and war for 40 years. You’ve had four failed governments… And you’ve had six wars in the time that anybody can remember. So I’m not sure what the state is.”

“So what’s the state?” he said near the beginning of the session. “The state is Hezbollah. You go south, Hezbollah gives you water. It gives you an education, gives you a stipend, has 40,000 soldiers. The LAF, Lebanese Armed Forces, has 60,000 soldiers. The only problem is that Hezbollah soldiers make $2,200 a month. The LAF soldiers make $275 a month.”

He went on to say that Hezbollah, a terror group that effectively controlled southern Lebanon for decades before being decimated in a 2023-2024 war with Israel, still holds some 15,000 to 20,000 rockets and missiles that threaten Israel. The United States has pressed the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah, and the government has committed to doing so, but Barrack said the goal was unrealistic.

“The idea of disarming Hezbollah — in our opinion, it’s not reasonable to tell Lebanon, ‘Forcibly disarm one of your political parties,'” he said. “Everybody’s scared to death to go into a civil war. The idea is, what can you do to have Hezbollah not utilize those rockets and missiles?”

The best path forward for Lebanon, Barrack argued repeatedly, was to begin a dialogue with Israel, with the hope of signing a diplomatic accord. He........

© The Times of Israel