The "Lebanese Forces" expressed "great astonishment" at President Najib Mikati's call for a Cabinet session ostensibly to extend General Joseph Aoun's term but actually to obstruct this extension. The statement noted that the renewal in the Cabinet requires the signature of the Minister of Defense, who is evidently not on board with this plan. Consequently, the Cabinet would take an illegal step aimed solely at preventing the actual extension in the Parliament after a long-awaited session was set for Thursday regarding this purpose.
In a statement issued by the party's media department, it was emphasized: "President Mikati had ample time in recent months when the issue was strongly raised to arrange a legal extension for the Army Commander in the Cabinet, but he failed to do so. How do we explain his action at this very moment, after the extension topic was raised in Parliament? How do we justify his call for an illegal extension for the Army Commander in the Cabinet, which can easily be contested and nullified, thereby throwing the military institution into significant vacuity and chaos? This would lead the country into even greater and more dangerous disorder, revealing Lebanon completely to the current looming threats. Does President Mikati understand what he is doing?"
