Lebanon’s government has reacted with bravado to the decision of several members of the US House of Representatives to put a hold on American military assistance to the Lebanese army. However, the mood in Washington speaks to a worrisome development, namely Lebanon’s gradual drift into semi-pariah status on Capitol Hill, with the country increasingly seen as being under the sway of Hizbollah.
The House members took the decision following a recent incident in south Lebanon in which Lebanese soldiers fired at Israeli soldiers. Three Lebanese, two of them military personnel, were killed in the ensuing fire-fight, as was an Israeli officer. The United Nations force in southern Lebanon determined that the Lebanese had fired across the international border, which brought US condemnation.
