Ibrahim Tannous, Lebanese general (b. 1929)
Ibrahim Tannous (1929 – December 26, 2012) was a former commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces. General Tannous earned a reputation for honesty and was seen as “a general willing to get his uniform dirty to build a fighting Lebanese Army,” in the words of one Arab authority. Gen. Tannous took over command of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in December 1982, during the early years of the civil war and oversaw joint operations with the Multinational Force that was in charge of training LAF forces and restoring order to Beirut. Gen. Tannous, who is close to President Gemayel, resigned his post as armed forces commander in June 1984 as a concession to government's opposition factions who were calling for restructuring the army and was succeeded by Michel Aoun. Until Gen. Tannous' resignation, the army was one of the most important institution supporting the U.S.-backed Gemayel Government, however, Tannous' departure marked a major shift in the American-trained armed forces towards a policy closely in tune with Syria's foreign policy and security objectives.