On the occasion of the 79th anniversary of Lebanon's independence, the Director General of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, issued the following directive: "O soldiers, Lebanon is currently experiencing its worst phase. What has befallen us has never been recorded in the history of this nation, which has transformed from a producer of civilization to a breeding ground for collapses in all their harsh expressions, leaving neither human beings nor stones intact. This requires us, as children of the oath to God and the homeland, to be vigilant and prepared for whatever may come at all levels, especially since we are responsible before the Lebanese to preserve and protect the nation against all adversities.
O soldiers, what has happened to our country is not fate or destiny, but rather the result of a sterile internal context that has brought everything down, leading Lebanon to need a new identification card regarding its role and function both internally and in its near and distant surroundings. After having been a beacon of letters and a source of the human civilization that is rooted in freedom, cultural, and religious diversity, Lebanon has now become a breeding ground for sectarianism and regionalism, and a battleground for rampant patronage that has struck at the state’s core and institutions.
As long as there are officials who claim they are the guarantee of the state, we will not have a homeland, for states are not built on the guarantees of individuals; rather, constitutional institutions and adherence to the implementation of the laws alone are what build states and protect the future of generations.
O soldiers, it is no secret that everything has collapsed. With it, morals and values have fallen, and the language of hatred, malice, hypocrisy, and the buying of loyalties has become a hallmark of platforms that overshadow freedom and obstruct justice, trampling on the concepts of freedom of expression and the standards of professional honor, resulting in a collapse at all levels that has deprived Lebanon of its mission and message.
There will be no resurrection of the state or salvation for the nation except by reviving a modern, unified state capable of protecting itself and its people, after Lebanon has become stripped of all its roles and functions, while the battles on trivial matters persist, not for any reason, but to prove one's ability to lead this group or that.
O soldiers, your professional duty and your oath to God require you to remain loyal and steadfast, no matter how dire the crisis becomes. We are in the midst of its darkest circumstances, and we are testing the severity of hardships and trials.
Be as your nation and people have known you, heroes in the face of all aggression, children of the law and institutions, not children of factional conditions or their momentary benefits. History will write that we neither surrendered nor succumbed. It will also write that we did not accept humiliation for personal gains, for we, along with you and all Lebanese, are children of the state, children of a unified Lebanon, with an Arab identity and belonging, a final entity committed to coexistence. Long live you and long live Lebanon."
