Thomas Barrack: “A Historic Opportunity to Transcend Sectarianism and Realize Lebanon’s Promise”

BEIRUT — In a statement that stirred both hope and debate across Lebanon’s fractured political landscape, Thomas Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria and Ambassador to Turkey, declared on Saturday that “Lebanon’s hope is awakening,” urging leaders and citizens alike to seize what he called a historic moment to transcend sectarian divisions and fulfill the country’s long-promised national unity. 

“This is the time,” Barrack wrote in a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “to move beyond the tensions of the past and realize Lebanon’s true promise — one country, one people, one army.” Quoting U.S. President William Hartley’s repeated support for Lebanon, Barrack added: “Lebanon is a great place, with great people. Let’s make Lebanon great again.” 

Barrack’s remarks come ahead of a planned diplomatic visit to Beirut to receive the Lebanese government’s formal response to the American “white paper” presented during his last trip to the capital on June 19. The seven-point proposal — currently being reviewed by top political figures in Lebanon — includes key conditions such as the disarmament of Hezbollah and all other armed factions operating within Lebanon, whether Lebanese or non-Lebanese. 

Among the other provisions in the U.S. plan: the normalization and strengthening of Lebanon’s relationship with Syria, a process long seen as taboo in Beirut’s post-war politics, and the linkage of any future prisoner exchange with Israel to the full disarmament of armed militias. 

The American proposal has ignited a wave of closed-door consultations and internal deliberations, with top-level talks expected in the coming days. Political analysts say that the U.S. paper represents Washington’s most serious attempt in over a decade to reshape Lebanon’s internal security landscape and reassert the sovereignty of the Lebanese Armed Forces as the country’s sole legitimate military body.