On Tuesday, August 5, Lebanese ministers will gather to confront one of the most consequential issues in the country’s modern history: the question of Hezbollah’s weapons. This meeting is not merely a formality-it is a turning point that will define whether Lebanon chooses sovereignty or continued subjugation to militias operating outside the state.

It is imperative that the Lebanese government rise to this moment with a unified voice. A fractured stance will only deepen national paralysis and invite further chaos. For too long, Hezbollah’s armed presence has operated as a state within a state-undermining national institutions, hijacking foreign policy, and drawing Lebanon into regional conflicts that have nothing to do with the will or wellbeing of its people.

Lebanon has a short and rare window of opportunity to reclaim its future. Across the region, tectonic shifts are realigning old alliances and creating new pathways to peace. Lebanon cannot afford to remain frozen in the past. The time has come to support a government that is by the people and for the people, not one held hostage by an Iranian-influenced militia that answers to Tehran, not Beirut.

There is no ambiguity in the Lebanese Constitution or the international framework that governs the country’s post-war commitments. UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701 are clear: all armed groups must disarm, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) must be the sole legitimate defender of the nation.

The LAF has proven itself time and again-professional, non-sectarian, and trusted by the people. It is the soul protector of Lebanon’s sovereignty, the only force capable of defending the homeland without dragging it into destructive wars.

Lebanon has endured too many internal conflicts. Civil wars, political assassinations, and foreign interventions have taken hundreds of thousands of lives and shattered our national spirit. Enough is enough. Peace and prosperity will only come when the gun is returned to the barracks and the will of the people replaces the commands of militias.

The United States and its allies stand ready to support a Lebanon that chooses sovereignty over subservience, peace over war, and law over lawlessness. But that support hinges on a clear decision from within. The world is watching, and history will remember what Lebanon chooses to do tomorrow.

Will our leaders defend the republic-or continue to allow its slow disintegration under the weight of illegitimate arms?

Now is the moment to choose the nation.

Paul Elhindi
President
American Lebanese Policy Institute Political Action Committee (ALPI PAC)

ALPI-PAC 20 F Street, 7th Floor, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001,