BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s economic meltdown threatens to undermine its military, a force that Lebanese have long considered an anchor for stability. The U.S.-backed army largely stays out of politics and tried to stand above the country’s bitter factional divisions. But the financial crisis is putting pressure on its operational capabilities, wiping out soldiers’ salaries and wrecking morale. Military officials are raising alarm, warning that the country’s stability depends on the military’s cohesion. Lebanon’s economy has been collapsing since October 2019 in what the World Bank says may be one of the worst financial crises the world has seen in the past 150 years.
Lebanon’s crisis threatens one of its few unifiers, the army
