Us Foreign Policy in Lebanon
· In July 2006 Hezbollah, under the leadership of Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, enters Israel and captures two Israeli soldiers.
· In response, Israel launches a major military attack, bombing the Lebanese airport and parts of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah retaliates by launching hundreds of rockets and missles, believed to have been supplied by Syria and Iran into Israel. · On August 14, 2006, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 goes into effect.
· UNSCR 1701 increased UNIFIL numbers in southern lebanon from 1,990 troops in June 2006 to 11,512 troops in January 2007
Current Issues in U.S.-Lebanon Relations. 1. Hezbollah
· Syrian and Iranian backing of Hezbollah, an organization that has committed terrorist acts against U.S. personnel and facilities and has sworn to eliminate Israel, is perhaps the greatest obstacle to U.S. efforts to bolster the pro-Western forces in Lebanon.
· Administration reports state that Hezbollah has rearmed and expanded its arsenal in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions and in spite of international efforts to prevent the smuggling of weaponry from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah.
· In early 2010, multiple reports surfaced suggesting that Syria may have transferred Scud missiles to Hezbollah. Syria denied the charges.
· The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying, “The United States condemns in thestrongest terms the transfer of any arms, and especially ballistic missile systems such as the Scud,from Syria to Hezbollah. The transfer of these arms can only have a destabilizing effect on the region, and would pose an immediate threat to both the security of Israel and the sovereignty of Lebanon. · U.S. Administration reports state that Iran continues to provide Hezbollah with weapons, training, and financing, thereby threatening Israel’s security and the sovereignty of the Lebanese government.
· Hezbollah’s electoral success in the 2009 national elections and
· In response, Israel launches a major military attack, bombing the Lebanese airport and parts of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah retaliates by launching hundreds of rockets and missles, believed to have been supplied by Syria and Iran into Israel. · On August 14, 2006, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 goes into effect.
· UNSCR 1701 increased UNIFIL numbers in southern lebanon from 1,990 troops in June 2006 to 11,512 troops in January 2007
Current Issues in U.S.-Lebanon Relations. 1. Hezbollah
· Syrian and Iranian backing of Hezbollah, an organization that has committed terrorist acts against U.S. personnel and facilities and has sworn to eliminate Israel, is perhaps the greatest obstacle to U.S. efforts to bolster the pro-Western forces in Lebanon.
· Administration reports state that Hezbollah has rearmed and expanded its arsenal in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions and in spite of international efforts to prevent the smuggling of weaponry from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah.
· In early 2010, multiple reports surfaced suggesting that Syria may have transferred Scud missiles to Hezbollah. Syria denied the charges.
· The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying, “The United States condemns in thestrongest terms the transfer of any arms, and especially ballistic missile systems such as the Scud,from Syria to Hezbollah. The transfer of these arms can only have a destabilizing effect on the region, and would pose an immediate threat to both the security of Israel and the sovereignty of Lebanon. · U.S. Administration reports state that Iran continues to provide Hezbollah with weapons, training, and financing, thereby threatening Israel’s security and the sovereignty of the Lebanese government.
· Hezbollah’s electoral success in the 2009 national elections and