By: Editor-in-Chief Ibrahim Rehan
Since the "Support Umbrella" was opened in the fall of 2023, it was clear that we were not writing a text in the dictionary of solidarity, but signing a blank check for a nation that no longer possessed the cost of signature ink. Today, as we look at the wreckage of the "unified arenas" idea in July 2026, which shifted from supporting Gaza to fortifying the frontline defense of Tehran, we realize that we were not managing a confrontation—but orchestrating a slow-motion proxy suicide.
Neither the "framework agreement" nor anything similar is the pinnacle of Lebanese aspirations, nor is it the optimal result for national dignity and full sovereignty in the face of Israeli obstinacy. Yet fairness, and a review of the blood-soaked and rubble-marked accounts, compel us to abandon the denial of "victories" and confront the naked truth.
The catastrophic reality Lebanon endures today, caught between renewed occupation in the south and thousands of martyrs and wounded, is the result and not the cause. It is the bitter harvest of adventures that neither a state nor its people were consulted about. When the Israeli "veto" is lifted to affirm the principle of "freedom of movement" militarily in Lebanese airspace and land, we should not look to the Lebanese official negotiating table.
The tragic irony is that this concession was not crafted by Joseph Aoun in the halls of Yarzeh, nor was it formulated by Nawaf Salam—it was legitimized by the 2024 agreement engineered by the "tandem" under the auspices of Ali Larijani, who came from Tehran to piece together the remnants of Lebanese sovereignty.
If we want to avoid falling into the trap of the next adventure, and not become fuel for others' fires again, we must dismantle the reasons that led us to the abyss rather than lament the outcomes. The revival of Lebanon begins with ceasing to see it as merely an "arena" and restoring it as a final homeland for its people, not as a rocket launchpad for others.