S8 Ep1349: David Daoud and Edmund Fitton-Brown examine UNIFIL's mandate, which restricts it to acting as an auxiliary to the Lebanese Armed

The John Batchelor Show · Aug 25, 2026 · 19m

David Daoud and Edmund Fitton-Brown examine UNIFIL's mandate, which restricts it to acting as an auxiliary to the Lebanese Armed Forces, preventing independent disarmament of Hezbollah. Consequently, Hezbollah operates freely near UN watchtowers and tunnel networks. Daoud argues that while new US Treasury sanctions expanding target parameters to include Iranian violations are positive, they fail to address Hezbollah's deep integration into Lebanon's socio-political fabric. To be effective, the West must treat Hezbollah as a Lebanese entity with sovereign responsibilities, rather than purely…