The report that Saudi Arabia is gifting the Lebanese Army $3 billion, to be spent on French weapons, does not explicitly link the agreement to an anti-Hezbollah initiative.
But read around a bit, and it's not hard to connect the dots.
Saudi policy, more than ever in the hands of one man, Bandar bin Sultan, aka Bandar Bush, is doubling down on it's anti-Assad bet in Syria. Seriously irked by Obama having backed away from "red lines" and forging a tentative rapprochement with Iran, Bandar is going it alone.
Well, not quite alone. French President Francois Hollande was on hand to lend the announcement a veneer of first world gravitas. Besides, those three billions are earmarked for the French armaments industry, so the Saudi Santa is spreading his Christmas cheer far beyond the Lebanese Army.
A Christmas gift of these proportions represents a massive infusion of hardware for the Lebanese military, far beyond what is required to maintain its traditional role of nominally preserving sovereignty. The quid pro quo is that the Army will be expected to show its gratitude by coming down hard on Hezbollah; at least hard enough to get the Shite militia to disengage from direct participation in Syria.
The Saudi's have the tacit support of Israel in this deal. It is understood on all sides that this three billion dollars is not intended to protect Lebanon sovereignty from routine violations by her southern neighbor.
What could possibly go wrong?
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