The dispute between the Minister of Defense and the Army Commander is on the way to being resolved?!

Minister of Culture Mohammad Al-Mortada said that he succeeded in arranging the relationship between Minister of National Defense Maurice Slim and Army Commander General Joseph Aoun and was able to find a way out that would lead to passing the results of the Military College competition and other pending issues and restoring the tense relations in more than one file between the two men. In fact, their differences were reflected in the general course of managing the affairs of the military institution and the duties required of them, which are governed by the rules of law in normal cases that have become almost absent in most administrations as a result of introducing the factor of favoritism and resorting to religious references in many cases, even to the point of deciding the fate of the head of a department!

Al-Murtada did not reveal the details of the conclusion he reached in order to preserve its actual translation without showing any noise, and to prevent the failure of the outcome and the common denominators that he worked to establish with the follow-up of Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, was informed of the details. In response to a question from “An-Nahar”, Al-Murtada said that things are going positively and will take their way towards appropriate solutions starting next week.

The disagreements are not limited to how to come up with a solution for those who passed the military college and their number, but the other problem lies in Salim’s refusal to appoint Hassan Odeh as Chief of Staff, knowing that he placed the rank of Major General on his shoulders without issuing his decree yet, which must first bear the signature of the Minister of Defense, even if the Council of Ministers appointed him.

Al-Murtada says: “When everyone examines the state of the country and how things have reached, and a comparison is made between personal interest and the public interest, the second option must be taken.”

Would you give in to the open rams between the two men if you reached a dead end?
He replied: “We reached a solution between the two parties and the atmosphere is more than positive. I am keen to make it a success and I will not reveal the details of what was worked on. Both are convinced that the public interest is the priority, and each of them must be keen on the interest of the military institution so that it can perform the national tasks required of it. We can say that things have been settled between the minister and the army commander. Prime Minister Mikati did not fail in his efforts to overcome this issue. All these efforts and positive contacts will certainly appear.”

Al-Murtada’s intervention was not limited to the Military College match file, “which was a detail and part of the whole. We focused on the general principle and working for the interests of both parties, especially in light of the difficult circumstances experienced by institutions, which require everyone to rise above any differences or personal positions, and to cooperate according to the authority of each official. We noticed more than one response from both.”

Al-Murtada added that the Minister of Defense and the Commander of the Army “are the most concerned about the military institution, and each of them appreciates the other and is keen on his role, presence, and powers, and on their relationship being adorned with a spirit of coordination and cooperation in accordance with what national responsibility imposes within the applicable laws and regulations, and in a way that serves the public interest. The atmosphere between them is more than positive, which makes us optimistic, not only about their imminent announcement of their handling of the issue of the officer cadets competition, but also about every future entitlement related to the military institution.”