Statement from the Minister of Defense's Office: "Operations Room" Spreading Poison and Rumors

The media office of the Minister of National Defense in the caretaker government, Maurice Sleem, issued the following statement: "The recently established operations room at a well-known location continues to spread poisons, rumors, and lies, distributing articles here and there within a multi-talented orchestra, whose objectives have now become clear to public opinion. Its latest poison is that the Minister of National Defense refrained from signing the allocations for fuel for the military institution." The statement confirmed that "this fabricated news from the same operations room is unfounded and concocted, similar to other false reports. The sources of instructions and orders to this room are fully aware that there is no truth in what they have planted to mislead public opinion in their series of attempts to tarnish the minister’s character and his integrity and dedication to the institution in which he was raised, served faithfully, and continues to serve." It concluded: "The continued flow of poison and rumors will not change the stance of the Minister of National Defense in respecting the constitution and the National Defense Law and protecting the army from personal ambitions. Rather, it will lead to a reconsideration of the policy of ignoring slander and exercising restraint that the minister has adopted in response to repeated fabrications and lies. He will find himself compelled to expose all ambiguous practices, violations, and those behind them by name, number, and documents, so that these ongoing absurdities—which have gone beyond personal attacks on the minister to affect the national institution's officers, non-commissioned officers, and individuals—will stop.”