US Should Increase Sanctions on Lebanon to Spur Progress, House Panel Hears
The U.S. should make greater use of sanctions to promote peace and reform in Lebanon, two Middle East experts told a congressional panel Feb. 3.
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David Schenker, Taube senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, called for sanctioning Lebanese political leaders “who obstruct reform and perpetuate the system of endemic corruption that continues to plague the state.” He would encourage European countries to do the same, as Lebanese elites have closer ties to Europe than the U.S.
“Until now, sanctions have been too few and far between to encourage meaningful and sustained changes in behavior,” Schenker said in written testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.
Hanin Ghaddar, Friedmann senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said in written testimony that she would sanction officials and other individuals who help Hezbollah raise, move and store funds. She also would designate those who undermine disarmament, use violence or resist political, economic and judicial reforms.
Ghaddar said Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who leads the Amal Movement, “has suffered no international consequences for repeatedly supporting” Hezbollah, which the U.S. has designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997.
In response to a question from Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., Schenker said he would like to see France designate all of Hezbollah, not just its military wing, as a terrorist group. But he considers such a move to be unlikely.
“I think it’s going to be a stretch for them,” Schenker said. “France likes to have all doors open with Lebanon, and this would close off doors for them.”
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., noted that he and Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., introduced a bill late Feb. 2 that would authorize the U.S. president to sanction foreign persons that hinder Lebanon’s electoral process, such as by restricting or preventing Lebanese citizens abroad from voting in the country's parliamentary elections. Schenker accused Berri of obstructing electoral reform that would give Lebanon’s diaspora a greater say in the country’s legislative elections.