The Middle East conflict has become regional in character, encompassing every issue and mixing all the region's conflicts into a single vessel. This dangerous expansion reflects a persistent threat of expansionist ambitions and military adventurism across the region.
Today, the Houthis send drones toward Saudi Arabia and threaten to close Bab al-Mandab, while other forces of evil launch their own attacks. This ongoing aggression underscores a perilous neighborhood where sectarian arrogance still thrives, challenging the very concept of the nation-state. The impulse to expand remains, even as the faces of the aggressors change.
The Axis of Instability
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's visit to Ankara this same week reflects Lebanon's effort to broaden its network of regional and international partners. This move aims to restore sovereignty, strengthen security, and revive the economy, signaling a potential shift away from the Iranian-backed axis of instability. His meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carried political, security, and economic messages extending far beyond the two countries.
The visit's importance began with its timing, as Lebanon enters a delicate period while international efforts continue to stabilize the south. These efforts include implementing security understandings and considering arrangements following the eventual end of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon's mission. Erdogan announced Turkey's readiness to participate in any new international security framework intended to support Lebanon's security and protect its sovereignty, alongside continued Turkish assistance to the Lebanese Army. This reflects Ankara's desire to play a larger role in stabilizing the Eastern Mediterranean and offers Lebanon greater room to diversify its security partnerships.
Politically, the visit allowed Aoun to seek Turkish support for Lebanon's position demanding the completion of Israel's withdrawal. Crucially, it also aimed for the restoration of state authority over all Lebanese territory and the strengthening of the army as the only legitimate institution entrusted with protecting the borders and maintaining security. This signals a vital internal struggle against non-state actors that undermine national sovereignty.
Lessons from Past Aggression
The region has long been filled with expansionist ambitions, military adventurism, and the threat of war. On the thirty-sixth anniversary of the August 2, 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the memory of a treacherous invasion remains vivid for those who lived through it. The desire to dominate beyond one's borders still poses an existential challenge to the Gulf states.
The brutal Iran-Iraq War had ended after eight years, leaving deep wounds across the Gulf and inflicting direct economic and political harm on Kuwait more than once. Kuwait had been among the states pressing for greater Gulf unity, leading to the birth of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Abu Dhabi in its forty-fifth year. Iraq's leadership, carried by arrogance, made calculations that quickly proved catastrophic, invading a peaceful neighboring country.
The seven months of occupation were black in every sense, but they also revealed the strength of Kuwaiti national cohesion. The Gulf states treated the aggression as an attack on themselves, mobilizing to end the occupation, with Riyadh at the forefront. The central truth was that the Gulf regarded the invasion as a matter of collective security, understanding that permitting one independent state to swallow another would have catastrophic consequences.
Kuwait's late Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on the thirty-fifth anniversary of his speech, on September 27, 1990. He spoke of a people who loved peace but saw their security and stability violated, declaring that the invaders would inevitably leave. Iraqi forces set Kuwait's oil wells ablaze before retreating, transforming daylight into night with smoke and the smell of destruction. That outcome was achieved only through sacrifice: a people who rejected occupation, a leadership that upheld the state's legitimacy, Gulf solidarity, and international support.
Lebanon's Struggle for Sovereignty
The purpose of remembering these events is not to revive hatred but to reinforce the lesson that sovereignty and Gulf solidarity must be strengthened through sustained effort. The dangers have changed in appearance but not in essence. The region has not become safer; the nation-state is still threatened whenever one party believes force gives it the right to determine the fate of others.
The economic dimension of Aoun's visit was no less important, with Turkey being one of the region's largest economies. Revitalized economic relations could attract new Turkish investment, expand trade, and encourage private companies to participate in reconstruction, creating jobs and stimulating a Lebanese economy in urgent need of long-term partners. Diplomatically, the visit confirmed Aoun's approach of diversifying Lebanon's foreign partnerships rather than confining them to a single axis. This adds another dimension to Lebanese foreign policy and strengthens Beirut's ability to rally support for its core priorities: stability, renewed confidence in the economy, and stronger state institutions.
Strategically, the visit reflected Lebanon's understanding of the region's geopolitical transformation. Turkey has become a central actor in security, energy, transportation, and reconstruction, maintaining extensive relations with Europe, NATO, and the Middle East. A stronger relationship therefore gives Lebanon another channel to regional and international decision-making centers. The joint press conference revealed a clear desire by both leaderships to elevate relations toward a more ambitious partnership based on trust and practical cooperation, including continued support for the army and assistance with economic recovery. Aoun stressed that the next phase required effective partnerships capable of helping Lebanon regain its natural regional role, consistent with his vision of a strong state with full sovereignty and functioning institutions. The Ankara visit was not merely ceremonial but a calculated step within a wider diplomatic strategy to reposition Lebanon in the region, expand its international support network, and secure political, security, and economic backing for the reconstruction of the state.