Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Obama administration has made it clear to the Lebanese government that it should do everything in its power to avoid another border skirmish with Israel and be careful about cozying up to Iran if they value their defense relationship with the United States.
Iran has offered to become the primary supporter of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) after two leading U.S. lawmakers put a hold on U.S. military assistance to the LAF last week. The holds were placed around the same time as a border skirmish between Israel and Lebanon that resulted in four deaths. The attack on Israeli soldiers who were pruning a tree began with shots fired from the Lebanese side, possibly with an American made sniper rifle.The lawmakers, House Foreign Affairs chairman Howard Berman, D-CA, and House Appropriations Foreign Operations subcommittee chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-NY, are working with the administration now and the expectation is that the holds will be soon lifted.
But in the meantime, the administration delivered a message to the Lebanese government via Frederic Hof, senior advisor to Special Envoy George Mitchell, who was in Beirut on a previously scheduled visit. Hof arrived there last week and left August 9. He met with senior civilian and military leaders to discuss the border incident and to update them on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, a senior U.S. official told The Cable.
"He noted that the incident could and should have been avoided and placed stress on the important U.S.-Lebanon bilateral defense relationship," the official said.
Hof also warned that some in Congress were trying to curtail or even eliminate U.S. military assistance to the LAF and the administration's efforts to keep the assistance going were dependent on there being no further incidents.
"Hof told his interlocutors that if something like this were to happen again, he's not sure we could prevent [the elimination of the aid] from happening," the official said.
Perhaps most importantly, Hof communicated to senior Lebanese officials that their actions going forward, such as taking assistance from Iran, for example, would have consequences for U.S.-Lebanon military cooperation.
"He reaffirmed that the Administration considers the relationship very important and the role of the LAF as a national institution defending the country's sovereignty to be vital. But he also explained that our ability to justify and strengthen this important defense relationship will be affected by what Lebanon does in the wake of this incident," the official said.
Reports from the region said that Hof met with Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji, who also met with Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Abadi on Monday.
It's not clear that the Lebanese government or the LAF got the message. Lebanese Defense Minister Elias al-Murr shot back at Congress defiantly on August 11.
"That person who said in Congress, 'I will stop aid to the army,' he is free to do so.... Anyone who wants to help the army without restrictions or conditions, is welcome," Murr said. "This person wants to make military aid conditional on not protecting [Lebanon's] land, people, and borders against Israeli aggression. Let them keep their money or give it to Israel. We will confront [Israel] with the capabilities we own."
Murr also reportedly said the army fired at Israel based on "an order from the army chief."
Back in Washington, the State Department is working with Berman and Lowey to reassure them that U.S. military aid is not going to Hizbollah and is not being used against U.S. allies. A State Department official said on background that he expects the holds to be lifted soon.
"We are committed to our relationship with Lebanon," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday. "It serves our interests; it serves Lebanon's interests; it serves the region's interests. We continue to believe that investing in Lebanon's government and investing in Lebanon's military serves as a stabilizing influence and expands and strengthens Lebanon's sovereignty."
The actual money, $100 million worth of Humvees, small arms, and maintenance support, was already appropriated by Congress as part of the fiscal 2010 appropriations bill. But as of July 29, the money was still unspent. That's the day State sent over what's known as a "spend plan" for the money, which is what triggered the holds from Berman and Lowey.
Berman actually placed his hold before the border clash. Lowey placed her hold in reaction to the incident.
"Before disbursing this assistance, we must understand the exact circumstances of the incident and how our assistance can most effectively enhance our security and that of our allies," Lowey told The Cable Wednesday. "I am working closely with the Administration to answer these questions."
Two more lawmakers have also waded into the debate. House Armed Services Committee chairman Ike Skelton, D-MO, wrote to Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask for briefings on U.S. military assistance to the LAF.
"I have supported both this and the last Administration's efforts to build the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to conduct counterterrorism operations. However, this recent exchange of fire between Israeli and Lebanese armed forces along that border has me concerned that our policy with Lebanon may be counter-productive," Skelton wrote.
And House Minority Leader Eric Cantor, R-VA, called for fiscal 2011 funding to be blocked until the questions regarding the incident and the LAF's relationship to Hizbollah are resolved.
"The LAF's unprovoked attack on the Israeli defense forces in undisputed Israeli territory demands a sweeping reassessment of how we distribute our foreign aid," Cantor said in a statement.
Cantor apparently didn't realize that fiscal 2011 funding has not been considered by Congress and won't come up for several months
The Obama administration has made it clear to the Lebanese government that it should do everything in its power to avoid another border skirmish with Israel and be careful about cozying up to Iran if they value their defense relationship with the United States.
Iran has offered to become the primary supporter of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) after two leading U.S. lawmakers put a hold on U.S. military assistance to the LAF last week. The holds were placed around the same time as a border skirmish between Israel and Lebanon that resulted in four deaths. The attack on Israeli soldiers who were pruning a tree began with shots fired from the Lebanese side, possibly with an American made sniper rifle.The lawmakers, House Foreign Affairs chairman Howard Berman, D-CA, and House Appropriations Foreign Operations subcommittee chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-NY, are working with the administration now and the expectation is that the holds will be soon lifted.
But in the meantime, the administration delivered a message to the Lebanese government via Frederic Hof, senior advisor to Special Envoy George Mitchell, who was in Beirut on a previously scheduled visit. Hof arrived there last week and left August 9. He met with senior civilian and military leaders to discuss the border incident and to update them on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, a senior U.S. official told The Cable.
"He noted that the incident could and should have been avoided and placed stress on the important U.S.-Lebanon bilateral defense relationship," the official said.
Hof also warned that some in Congress were trying to curtail or even eliminate U.S. military assistance to the LAF and the administration's efforts to keep the assistance going were dependent on there being no further incidents.
"Hof told his interlocutors that if something like this were to happen again, he's not sure we could prevent [the elimination of the aid] from happening," the official said.
Perhaps most importantly, Hof communicated to senior Lebanese officials that their actions going forward, such as taking assistance from Iran, for example, would have consequences for U.S.-Lebanon military cooperation.
"He reaffirmed that the Administration considers the relationship very important and the role of the LAF as a national institution defending the country's sovereignty to be vital. But he also explained that our ability to justify and strengthen this important defense relationship will be affected by what Lebanon does in the wake of this incident," the official said.
Reports from the region said that Hof met with Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji, who also met with Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Abadi on Monday.
It's not clear that the Lebanese government or the LAF got the message. Lebanese Defense Minister Elias al-Murr shot back at Congress defiantly on August 11.
"That person who said in Congress, 'I will stop aid to the army,' he is free to do so.... Anyone who wants to help the army without restrictions or conditions, is welcome," Murr said. "This person wants to make military aid conditional on not protecting [Lebanon's] land, people, and borders against Israeli aggression. Let them keep their money or give it to Israel. We will confront [Israel] with the capabilities we own."
Murr also reportedly said the army fired at Israel based on "an order from the army chief."
Back in Washington, the State Department is working with Berman and Lowey to reassure them that U.S. military aid is not going to Hizbollah and is not being used against U.S. allies. A State Department official said on background that he expects the holds to be lifted soon.
"We are committed to our relationship with Lebanon," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday. "It serves our interests; it serves Lebanon's interests; it serves the region's interests. We continue to believe that investing in Lebanon's government and investing in Lebanon's military serves as a stabilizing influence and expands and strengthens Lebanon's sovereignty."
The actual money, $100 million worth of Humvees, small arms, and maintenance support, was already appropriated by Congress as part of the fiscal 2010 appropriations bill. But as of July 29, the money was still unspent. That's the day State sent over what's known as a "spend plan" for the money, which is what triggered the holds from Berman and Lowey.
Berman actually placed his hold before the border clash. Lowey placed her hold in reaction to the incident.
"Before disbursing this assistance, we must understand the exact circumstances of the incident and how our assistance can most effectively enhance our security and that of our allies," Lowey told The Cable Wednesday. "I am working closely with the Administration to answer these questions."
Two more lawmakers have also waded into the debate. House Armed Services Committee chairman Ike Skelton, D-MO, wrote to Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask for briefings on U.S. military assistance to the LAF.
"I have supported both this and the last Administration's efforts to build the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to conduct counterterrorism operations. However, this recent exchange of fire between Israeli and Lebanese armed forces along that border has me concerned that our policy with Lebanon may be counter-productive," Skelton wrote.
And House Minority Leader Eric Cantor, R-VA, called for fiscal 2011 funding to be blocked until the questions regarding the incident and the LAF's relationship to Hizbollah are resolved.
"The LAF's unprovoked attack on the Israeli defense forces in undisputed Israeli territory demands a sweeping reassessment of how we distribute our foreign aid," Cantor said in a statement.
Cantor apparently didn't realize that fiscal 2011 funding has not been considered by Congress and won't come up for several months
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