Oh good grief, Democrats are complaining that it is a scandal that America is holding back military aid to Lebanon.
Given Iran's influence in Lebanon--through their proxy Hezbollah--it is fully in our interests to make sure that aid isn't going to Iran in practice rather than to a government and military that can resist Iran. The military aid is only useful if the Lebanese government resists Hezbollah, as this story from March makes clear.
U.S. sanctions on Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are working, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday on a visit to Beirut, calling on Lebanon to stand up to the Shi'ite group which he accused of "criminality, terror and threats".
Lebanese politicians who met Pompeo, including President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil -- all political allies of Hezbollah -- said they had told him the group was part and parcel of Lebanese politics. ...
The United States would continue to use "all peaceful means" to choke off financing that "feeds Iran and Hezbollah terror operations", he said, pointing to "smuggling, criminal networks and the misuse of government positions".
"Lebanon faces a choice: bravely move forward as an independent and proud nation, or allow the dark ambitions of Iran and Hezbollah to dictate your future," he said.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun earlier told Pompeo that Hezbollah was a Lebanese party with popular support, the Lebanese presidency said.
I have been worried about Lebanon's subservience to Iran as I wrote in this February data dump:
American funding for the Lebanese army might be a really bad idea. Yeah, I once thought it was a good thing to do to hope for a future where their army might take back southern Lebanon from Hezbollah (and hence Iranian) control. But that's no longer a hope.
That article linked in that first link in the quote above stated:
American policymakers must revisit the recent decision to spend over $100 million of taxpayer money on advanced weapons for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Conceivably these armaments could reinforce Hezbollah against Israel or other Iranian proxies threatening the United States and its allies around the Middle East.
This fake "scandal" is nothing but partisan Democratic domestic politics in action. In that sense, and only in that sense, it is another Ukraine Aid Kerfuffle.
If Democrats truly cared about Lebanon they wouldn't want it to be controlled by Iran. Shame on the Democrats.
UPDATE: Amazingly, the protests over there have nothing to do with the status of our military aid:
The protests were initially sparked by new taxes but quickly evolved into calls for the entire political elite to step aside. ...
Politicians, meanwhile, have failed to agree on the shape and form of a new government. Hariri had insisted on heading a government of technocrats, while his opponents, including the militant Hezbollah, want a Cabinet made up of both experts and politicians.
Iran is not mentioned. But "politicians" means people Iran can dominate. Like Iran's proxy army/political force Hezbollah, but not exclusively, unfortunately.
