Does Hezbollah’s Electoral Victory Spell the End to Lebanon’s U.S. Military Aid?
Does Hezbollah’s Electoral Victory Spell the End to Lebanon’s U.S. Military Aid? By Agnes Helou – Defense News
BEIRUT – Critics of long-term military aid to Lebanon from the U.S. have been bolstered by the May 6 parliamentary elections that have given Hezbollah and its allies a majority in the legislature. Opponents to the aid are specifically concerned about an apparent warming of relations between the U.S.-equipped Lebanese Armed Forces and the political party/militant group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah itself and other skeptics of the U.S. assistance program in Lebanon have repeatedly emphasized a close proximity between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Hezbollah in an attempt to get the U.S. to reconsider its ties to the LAF…
“There is no doubt among U.S. defense officials that the LAF is an excellent steward of the aid it has received from an end-use monitoring perspective; Lebanon has a near-spotless record in this regard.”
In his first official appearance before Congress on May 23 as secretary of state, Mike Pompeo called for a review of U.S. military assistance for Lebanon following Hezbollah’s electoral gains…