FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2010
KLMNO
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The World
Calls to stop funding Lebanese army put Obama in tight spot Deadly clash prompts
some in Congress to urge an end to aid
by Janine Zacharia
beirut — After Israel and Hez- bollah fought a war in 2006, Presi- dent George W. Bush bolstered as- sistance to the Lebanese army to create a counterweight to the Shi- ite militia. Now, after a deadly clash last week between Israeli and Lebanese troops, some on Capitol Hill want to stop funding Lebanese forces entirely. The State Department has said
that continuing to provide aid to the Lebanese army is in the inter- ests of the United States. But amid growing protests in Congress, President Obama could soon face a dilemma: whether to abandon the institution-building effort Bush began because the army won’t confront Hezbollah or continue to fund the army to maintain stability and fight other militant groups it is willing to act against. A day before the Aug. 3 border
fight between Israel and Lebanon, Rep. Howard L. Berman (D- Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, put a hold on $100 million in assistance to the Lebanese military because of his concern that Hezbollah’s in- fluence over the army had grown. Lawmakers in both parties
have also expressed frustration at the Lebanese military’s lax patrol- ling of the border with Syria and the continued flow of Iranian- made weapons to Hezbollah. Is- rael estimates the group has amassed an arsenal of 40,000 rockets, four times what it had during the 2006 war. The Leba- nese military says there is no evi- dence of weapons smuggling across the border. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-
Fla.) said that after spending more than $700 million over five years on the Lebanese military, “it has become clear that assistance to Lebanon has not advanced U.S. national security interests.” House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) said the United States looked the other way for too long “as the lines between Hezbollah and the Lebanese mili- tary and government became blurred.” State Department officials say
they do not plan to reevaluate their position on the aid. “We have an extensive military cooperation program with Lebanon, because it’s in our interest to have that program,” department spokes- man P.J. Crowley said after the border clash. “It allows the gov- ernment of Lebanon to expand its sovereignty. We think that is in the interest of both of our coun- tries and regional stability as a whole.” In interviews with former Leb- anese military officials, current politicians and an array of observ- ers in Lebanon, not a single per- son said he thought the army would take steps to disarm or dis- tance itself from Hezbollah in the near term, with or without U.S. as- sistance.
But many expressed concern
that severing U.S. aid could feed instability in Lebanon and weak- en democratic forces that have lost ground since the Cedar Revo- lution in 2005 swept a pro-West- ern government to power. Iran immediately said it would make up whatever shortfalls the Leba- nese army incurs by a U.S. aid cut. Washington’s frustration is rooted in misguided expectations, military analysts said. “Don’t imagine that a strong army can fight Hezbollah,” said a retired Lebanese general, Elias Hanna. “Whoever thinks this is possible is under a delusion. . . . Most of the Lebanese army now is against Is- rael and is pro-Hezbollah.” When the Hezbollah militia took over Beirut in 24 hours in May 2008 after the Lebanese gov- ernment moved to shut down the organization’s
telecommunica-
tions network, the Lebanese army not only avoided confrontation with Hezbollah but also facilitat- ed the militia’s temporary seizure of certain key institutions. In this climate, Lebanese offi-
cials have struggled to figure out how to respond to Congress’s con- cerns. Privately, they say they want the aid to continue and be more robust. But Israel and Lebanon are still technically at war, and practically all politicians describe Israel in their public remarks as the enemy to satisfy the public here. U.S. lawmakers want “to make
military aid conditional on not protecting [Lebanon’s] land, peo- ple and borders against Israeli ag- gression,” Defense Minister Elias Murr said in a news conference Wednesday. “Let them keep their money or give it to Israel. We will confront [Israel] with the capabil- ities we have.” Adistinction between the Leba-
and has never found any irreg- ularities, despite congressional and Israeli concerns that any- thing sent to the Lebanese army potentially goes to Hezbollah. Rather, many here described the relationship as an ad-hoc co- ordination in which Hezbollah leaders sign off on army deploy- ments in south Lebanon (Hez- bollah’s primary area of opera- tions along the border with Israel) and share intelligence with the military. The alliance is hardly discreet.
HUSSEIN MALLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Lebanese soldier with a U.S.-made rifle examines the scene at a checkpoint damaged Aug. 3 in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops.
nese army and Hezbollah is a legal imperative for the United States, which is prohibited from aiding any group, such as Hezbollah, that it designates a terrorist organiza- tion. Hezbollah, as a political par-
ty, also wields enormous influence in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The State Department says it monitors the deployment of U.S. weapons to the Lebanese army
A slogan often repeated by Leba- nese officials, “the people, the army, the resistance will protect Lebanon,” shows the tacit support the government still provides to Hezbollah to resist Israel even though Israeli troops withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000. Before a televised appearance
by Hezbollah leader Hasan Nas- rallahon Monday night, the Leba- nese national anthem was played, followed by Hezbollah’s official
song. Nasrallah sat next to Leba- nese and Hezbollah flags as he talked about his cooperation with the army. Many of the army’s key figures are Shiites sympathetic to Hez- bollah, including the powerful deputy head of Lebanese military intelligence. The last two Leba- nese army commanders, both Christians, struck a pro-Hezbol- lah stance that helped them be- come presidents. After the 2006 war, the United
Nations Security Council called for Hezbollah to be disarmed. Nevertheless, its arsenal has grown far larger than before that confrontation and more potent than anything the Lebanese army has, analysts say. Amid this imbal- ance, maintaining U.S. assistance, advocates of continuing the aid say, is crucial if the United States wants to build a counterpoint to Hezbollah in the long term. While saying it wants to bolster the army’s capabilities, the United
A7
States has remained queasy about supplying Lebanon with ad- vanced weapons. The bulk of U.S. assistance, besides training for of- ficers, is non-lethal equipment such as body armor, boots, uni- forms and Humvees. The Lebanese army’s weakness was on display when it sought to dismantle an extremist Sunni group in 2007. During the army’s operation in a Palestinian refugee camp, 168 Lebanese troops died, many from friendly fire, amid se- vere weapons shortages. The army’s next major chal-
lenge could come when a special tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri is- sues indictments. Hezbollah members are top suspects, and the militia has threatened retalia- tion if they are arrested. The army’s sympathies and its ability to maintain stability could be test- ed soon.
zachariaj@washpost.com
InMemoriam
SenatorTheodore“Ted” Stevens (1923–2010)
Senator from Alaska
On the passing of Senator Theodore "Ted" Stevens, we pause to remember a leader whose service to America spanned more than six decades. As an Army Air Corps pilot flying cargo missions in the China-Burma-India theater during World War II, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. After World War II and law school, he settled in Alaska and worked in the Eisenhower administration. His passion for service led him to the United States Senate, where he became the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history with more than 40 years in office. He held such esteemed positions in the Senate as the president pro tempore and chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, among many others. Sen. Stevens was a respected leader, a staunch advocate of a strong national defense, and a patriot who worked tirelessly to represent the people of his state and to serve his nation. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Sen. Stevens.
A message from the men and women of Lockheed Martin
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