Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
May 14, 2008
Pg. 11
Military Aid Is Part Of Effort to Limit Syria, Iran Roles
By Jay Solomon and Cam Simpson
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is preparing to send more military aid to Beirut and seek to further isolate Syria in a bid to bolster Lebanon's teetering government, U.S. officials said.
Washington's moves came as the Lebanese Armed Forces worked Tuesday to regain control of areas gained by the Shiite militia and political party Hezbollah during a week of clashes with pro-government forces across Lebanon.
President Bush and other U.S. officials said in recent days that the strengthening of the LAF -- considered to be a neutral force in Lebanese affairs -- is central to Washington's goal of pushing back Hezbollah while weakening the influence inside Lebanon of the militia's principal backers, Syria and Iran.
"The best solution is for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be...capable of protecting the leaders," Mr. Bush said Monday in an interview with the Arabic satellite channel Al Arabiya. "We want to make them better so that they can respond."
Saudi Arabia also stepped up its rhetorical support for Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora Tuesday, warning Iran it risked its relations with the Arab states by supporting a Hezbollah "coup" inside Lebanon.
American officials wouldn't identify the exact types of assistance the U.S. will supply to Lebanon's security forces in coming weeks. Since Hezbollah's 2006 war against Israel, the Bush administration has provided roughly $400 million in military aid to Beirut, largely in the form of ammunition, guns and transport vehicles. The Pentagon accelerated these supplies last summer when the LAF engaged a Sunni extremist group, Fatah al Islam, in northern Lebanon.
U.S. officials, meanwhile, said they are exploring new types of financial and diplomatic means to target Syria to augment existing sanctions.
Some U.S. officials privately voice fears it may be too late to alter the balance of power inside Lebanon. They note that Hezbollah is significantly better-armed and -trained than the LAF, Lebanon's police force or the pro-government militias. And these officials also raised doubts about the LAF's willingness to fight in defense of Mr. Siniora and the political parties that make up his government.
The LAF largely stayed on the sidelines during the fighting that broke out earlier this month between Hezbollah and the Sunni and Druze militias loyal to the government. Hezbollah targeted the infrastructure of Lebanon's largest Sunni party, headed by the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's son, Saad Hariri.
"There's a lot of frustration here about what can be done," said a U.S. official working on Lebanon. "Ultimately, it's the Lebanese who will have to fight."
A number of Mr. Siniora's cabinet ministers have in the past accused the U.S. of being too slow in providing military aid to Beirut, particularly in comparison to the weapons provided by Iran and Syria to Hezbollah.
Conservatives in Washington are also criticizing the U.S. effort, saying Washington should hit back harder at Syrian and Iranian influence.
"What you see today in Lebanon was due to two years of a lack of U.S. policy in Lebanon," said John Bolton, who served as ambassador to the United Nations. "Nothing was done to follow through on our commitment."
On Tuesday, a tense quiet continued across Lebanon, even in areas that saw heavy fighting earlier this week. In some of the mixed Druze and Shiite villages southeast of Beirut, where fighting Sunday between pro-government and opposition forces left at least 20 dead, the LAF appeared to finally control the streets, which were largely empty. Shards of broken glass and charred rubble remained along boulevards lined with still-shuttered shops.
In Beirut, Mr. Hariri, the pro-Western Sunni leader, confirmed that the government would honor an army decision to rescind two controversial orders that helped spark the current round of clashes.
The government had demanded the shutdown of a private Hezbollah communications network and the firing of the airport's chief of security, accused of aiding Hezbollah surveillance operations.
Still, Mr. Hariri didn't strike a conciliatory tone with the opposition, which had demanded that the orders be rescinded before agreeing to resume talks.
May 14, 2008
Pg. 11
Military Aid Is Part Of Effort to Limit Syria, Iran Roles
By Jay Solomon and Cam Simpson
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is preparing to send more military aid to Beirut and seek to further isolate Syria in a bid to bolster Lebanon's teetering government, U.S. officials said.
Washington's moves came as the Lebanese Armed Forces worked Tuesday to regain control of areas gained by the Shiite militia and political party Hezbollah during a week of clashes with pro-government forces across Lebanon.
President Bush and other U.S. officials said in recent days that the strengthening of the LAF -- considered to be a neutral force in Lebanese affairs -- is central to Washington's goal of pushing back Hezbollah while weakening the influence inside Lebanon of the militia's principal backers, Syria and Iran.
"The best solution is for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be...capable of protecting the leaders," Mr. Bush said Monday in an interview with the Arabic satellite channel Al Arabiya. "We want to make them better so that they can respond."
Saudi Arabia also stepped up its rhetorical support for Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora Tuesday, warning Iran it risked its relations with the Arab states by supporting a Hezbollah "coup" inside Lebanon.
American officials wouldn't identify the exact types of assistance the U.S. will supply to Lebanon's security forces in coming weeks. Since Hezbollah's 2006 war against Israel, the Bush administration has provided roughly $400 million in military aid to Beirut, largely in the form of ammunition, guns and transport vehicles. The Pentagon accelerated these supplies last summer when the LAF engaged a Sunni extremist group, Fatah al Islam, in northern Lebanon.
U.S. officials, meanwhile, said they are exploring new types of financial and diplomatic means to target Syria to augment existing sanctions.
Some U.S. officials privately voice fears it may be too late to alter the balance of power inside Lebanon. They note that Hezbollah is significantly better-armed and -trained than the LAF, Lebanon's police force or the pro-government militias. And these officials also raised doubts about the LAF's willingness to fight in defense of Mr. Siniora and the political parties that make up his government.
The LAF largely stayed on the sidelines during the fighting that broke out earlier this month between Hezbollah and the Sunni and Druze militias loyal to the government. Hezbollah targeted the infrastructure of Lebanon's largest Sunni party, headed by the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's son, Saad Hariri.
"There's a lot of frustration here about what can be done," said a U.S. official working on Lebanon. "Ultimately, it's the Lebanese who will have to fight."
A number of Mr. Siniora's cabinet ministers have in the past accused the U.S. of being too slow in providing military aid to Beirut, particularly in comparison to the weapons provided by Iran and Syria to Hezbollah.
Conservatives in Washington are also criticizing the U.S. effort, saying Washington should hit back harder at Syrian and Iranian influence.
"What you see today in Lebanon was due to two years of a lack of U.S. policy in Lebanon," said John Bolton, who served as ambassador to the United Nations. "Nothing was done to follow through on our commitment."
On Tuesday, a tense quiet continued across Lebanon, even in areas that saw heavy fighting earlier this week. In some of the mixed Druze and Shiite villages southeast of Beirut, where fighting Sunday between pro-government and opposition forces left at least 20 dead, the LAF appeared to finally control the streets, which were largely empty. Shards of broken glass and charred rubble remained along boulevards lined with still-shuttered shops.
In Beirut, Mr. Hariri, the pro-Western Sunni leader, confirmed that the government would honor an army decision to rescind two controversial orders that helped spark the current round of clashes.
The government had demanded the shutdown of a private Hezbollah communications network and the firing of the airport's chief of security, accused of aiding Hezbollah surveillance operations.
Still, Mr. Hariri didn't strike a conciliatory tone with the opposition, which had demanded that the orders be rescinded before agreeing to resume talks.