With a nearly unanimous 99 out of 128 votes, the Lebanese parliament elected the head of the army, Gen. Joseph Aoun, as Lebanon’s 14th president on Jan. 9. In a strong inaugural speech Aoun laid out an ambitious agenda premised on regaining the Lebanese state’s monopoly of the use of force,

The Lebanese parliament finally voted on a new president on Thursday following two years of deadlock. Joseph Aoun the head of the country's armed forces won a majority of the votes.

For decades, Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanon was iron tight. With its vast arsenal, the militant group was more powerful than the country’s national military. It controlled or held sway over Lebanon’s most important government agencies as well as critical infrastructure,