[House Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
LEBANON'S SECURITY CHALLENGES AND
U.S. INTERESTS
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
APRIL 8, 2014
__________
Serial No. 113-133
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
DANA ROHRABACHER, California Samoa
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio BRAD SHERMAN, California
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
TED POE, Texas GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MATT SALMON, Arizona THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina KAREN BASS, California
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
MO BROOKS, Alabama DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
TOM COTTON, Arkansas ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
PAUL COOK, California JUAN VARGAS, California
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III,
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania Massachusetts
STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas AMI BERA, California
RON DeSANTIS, Florida ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia GRACE MENG, New York
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
TED S. YOHO, Florida TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
LUKE MESSER, Indiana JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida, Chairman
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
TOM COTTON, Arkansas DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
RON DeSANTIS, Florida JUAN VARGAS, California
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, Massachusetts
TED S. YOHO, Florida GRACE MENG, New York
LUKE MESSER, Indiana LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
C O N T E N T S
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Page
WITNESSES
Mr. Lawrence Silverman, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State................. 6
Matthew Spence, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Middle East Policy, U.S. Department of Defense................. 20
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
Mr. Lawrence Silverman: Prepared statement....................... 9
Matthew Spence, Ph.D.: Prepared statement........................ 23
APPENDIX
Hearing notice................................................... 54
Hearing minutes.................................................. 55
LEBANON'S SECURITY CHALLENGES AND
U.S. INTERESTS
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TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 o'clock a.m.,
in room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Well, thank you very much. The
subcommittee will come to order.
Afer recognizing myself and Ranking Member Ted Deutch for 5
minutes each for our opening statements, I will then recognize
other members seeking recognition for 1 minute. We will then
hear from our witnesses and without objection the witnesses'
prepared statements will be made a part of the record and
members may have 5 days to insert questions and statements for
the record subject to the length limitations in the rules.
And there are several committees that are meeting at the
same time including where Attorney General Holder is testifying
so we are bouncing back and forth from committee. So we
apologize if it seems to be sparsely attended. They will come
back and forth.
The chair now recognizes herself for 5 minutes. Lebanon is
a country that is seemingly perpetually in a state of conflict
or on the verge of breaking out into conflict at any moment.
A bloody and protracted civil war ravaged the country over
25 years ago and Lebanon has never really been quite able to
fully recover. One of the by-products of the Lebanese civil war
was the emergence of Hezbollah in the early 1980s.
Long associated with the Ba'ath Party in Syria led by
Bashar al-Assad and his father before him and backed by the
Iranian regime, Hezbollah has received its financial and
military support from Tehran while allying itself politically
with Damascus.
Hezbollah is a U.S. designated terrorist organization and
has been responsible for conducting many acts of violence that
have left hundreds of innocent U.S. and Israeli citizens dead.
It has long waged a war against our closest friend and
ally, the democratic Jewish State of Israel, most notably
setting off the 2006 conflict when it conducted a cross border
raid in Israel, kidnapping and killing Israeli soldiers.
This led to a 34-day-long campaign in which Hezbollah fired
thousands of rockets indiscriminately into Israel, prompting an
Israeli military response that finally ended in a cease fire.
Now we see Hezbollah responsible for much of the bloodshed in
Syria and it has brought that conflict across the border into
Lebanon and with it other terrorist groups like al-Qaeda-linked
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL.
This is not just a threat for Lebanon. This increased
violence threatens to destabilize the entire region,
threatening U.S. national interests and our democratic partner,
Israel.
In recent months, ISIL has been seeking to expand its
influence in Lebanon and its commander said the group would use
Lebanon as a gateway for al-Qaeda to strike Israel.
So how do we protect U.S. security interest or Israel and
ensure stability in Lebanon? The strain that the Syrian
conflict has put on Lebanon cannot be understated. Last week,
the U.N. high commissioner for refugees announced that the
number of refugees who have fled to Lebanon is now over 1
million and counting.
The United States continues to provide humanitarian
assistance to Lebanon, nearly $350 million to date, in an
effort to help it cope with this massive influx of refugees,
and since 2006 we have also increased our security assistance
to Lebanon with the goal of improving the capacity of Lebanese
Armed Forces, LAF, and its Internal Security Forces, ISF,
aiming to bolster their capacity to serve as effective and
nonsectarian forces to provide safety in Lebanon.
Lebanon is in the middle of a political transition, again
divided along religious ideologies and positions taken in
support or against Assad in Syria, and it is imperative that a
government can be formed that can put aside sectarian and
religious identities and work toward stabilizing the country. A
small step was taken earlier this year when a new cabinet was
formed after nearly a year of deadlocked negotiations.
But now with the current President's term set to expire
next month and elections pushed back until November, continued
violence and animosity between the main political groups
threatens to derail the process. The administration must
continue to press the Lebanese leaders to hold free, fair and
transparent elections on time.
But in order to have elections, the security situation must
improve so we must help the LAF and the ISF fight back the
increased sectarian violence that is tearing the country apart.
The U.S. cannot continue to take a reactive lead-from-behind
approach in Lebanon as it has been doing throughout the rest of
the region.
The administration's failed policies in Syria and Iran did
not create the atmosphere we see in Lebanon now but they have
certainly contributed to the instability.
Instead of coddling Iran and offering concession after
concession, we should be condemning the Iranian regime for its
support of terrorism, namely Hezbollah, and its abysmal human
rights record.
Even while the Syrian crisis continues and the sectarian
violence spreads throughout Lebanon, we cannot forget that
these terror groups continue to pose a very real threat to U.S.
national security and to Israel.
Just last month Israel seized an Iranian arms shipment that
was headed to Gaza and likely bound for Hezbollah and Israel
continues to see the Assad regime attempt to transport
sophisticated weapons like Russian-supplied surface to air
missiles to these extremists and Israel is then forced to take
action to prevent these transfers.
It is time that the administration defines a clear and
decisive plan and takes real and concrete action to defend our
interest and that of our allies.
And with that, I turn to our ranking member, Mr. Deutch.
Mr. Deutch. Thank you, Madame Chairman. Thank you, Deputy
Assistant Secretary Silverman and Spence for being here today.
I think we all agree that Lebanon is truly at a critical
juncture and has increased the tension for the United States
and from the international community.
Lebanon has faced tremendous internal struggles, from a 15-
year civil war to foreign intervention to its balancing act
with Hezbollah functioning as a de facto state within a state,
and now these initial struggles are compounded by the
increasing external pressures of regional events.
Perhaps no country in the region has been as adversely
affected by the Syrian crisis as Lebanon. Last week the United
Nations registered the millionth Syrian refugee in Lebanon--
over 1 million Syrians officially now refugees in a country
whose population is only 4 million.
With no official refugee camps, Syrians are now in 1,600
different towns and cities desperately looking for work and
shelter. The humanitarian effect of the Syrian crisis on
Lebanon is only one piece of the puzzle.
Spillover from the feud between the Assad-aligned Hezbollah
fighters and al-Qaeda-affiliated extremists has dramatically
increased violence on the ground in Lebanon. Retaliatory
bombings have struck both Sunni and Shi'ite areas and targeted
Lebanese armed forces and security services personnel.
Hezbollah is so deeply ingrained into the fabric of
Lebanese society that Shi'ite populations have no choice but to
rely on it not just for security but for social services,
schools and health care. A legitimate Lebanese Government
cannot function effectively when it is in a constant power
struggle to govern with a nonstate actor.
But calling itself a resistance movement or a political
party does not diminish from what Hezbollah truly is--an
Iranian-backed worldwide terrorist organization. Hezbollah's
activities have destabilized the entire region from its
estimated 4,000 fighters in Syria to its recent cross border
attack on an IDF convoy. Hezbollah has launched attacks around
the globe and every single day has 75,000 rockets aimed at
Israel.
Hezbollah's illicit financing ventures have propelled it to
a global criminal network with fundraising and finance
operations in Europe, in Africa and in Latin America.
I commend my colleagues on this committee--Brad Schneider
and Mark Meadows along with Chairman Royce and Ranking Member
Engel--for the introduction of new legislation that will help
the United States rein in Hezbollah's illicit activities and
financing of terrorism around the globe.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Silverman, I hope that you will
speak to what more the U.S. can do to strengthen actors that
can provide a viable alternative to Hezbollah. The selection of
a new President who is beholden to Hezbollah would greatly
diminish efforts to ensure the Lebanese Armed Forces have sole
responsibility for the country's security.
At the same time, the LAF must be held accountable by the
U.S. and our partners for this charge, meaning the LAF must
treat all security threats whether from Hezbollah or al-Qaeda
outlying militias the same.
I am concerned about reports that many feel the LAF is
losing its neutrality due to its hesitancy to provoke
Hezbollah. The U.S. has engaged in training the LAF in the
areas of border control and counterterrorism and Lebanon
receives the fourth largest sum of U.S. international military
training and education funds.
We must encourage our Western and regional partners to
continue to support the Lebanese Armed Forces. This includes
international enforcement of Security Council Resolution 1701,
which calls for the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon
and gives full security control to the forces of the Lebanese
Government.
Saudi Arabia committed $3 billion in military aid to
Lebanon. We must work in concert with the French and our
partners in the International Support Group for Lebanon to
ensure that these finds are delivered in an effective manner.
Improving the immediate security situation is a first step
toward repairing the Lebanese economy. Significant pressure
from the influx of Syrian refugees has led to a total economic
loss to the country of $7.5 billion from 2012 to 2014,
according to World Bank estimates.
Official unemployment is at 20 percent. Significant energy
finds may also contribute to Lebanon's long-term financial
stability but it is imperative that any potential exploration
follows only after a settlement to the maritime border dispute
in the eastern Mediterranean.
As the U.S. continues to provide humanitarian assistance to
address the immediate needs of Lebanon, we must also consider
investing in long-term projects that can shore up Lebanon's
economy for years to come.
Madam Chairman, Lebanon cannot maintain its balancing act
forever and I fear we are reaching the tipping point. Now is
the time to increase pressure on Hezbollah and increase support
for government institutions to help steer Lebanon on a path to
stability and true democracy.
I thank you and I yield back.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Deutch. Excellent opening
statement, and we have three members who have indicated that
they are the ones who would like to have 1-minute opening
statements and we are thrilled that they do want to do so.
So Mr. Meadows of North Carolina, whose bill is related to
Hezbollah. Thank you.
Mr. Meadows. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Thank you both for
coming here. It is good to see you again, Mr. Silverman. I look
forward to hearing your testimony on how we from a policy
standpoint can best implement policy to help the Lebanese
people enjoy a peaceful and secure environment.
Obviously, our ally, Israel, right next door has tens of
thousands if not hundreds of thousands of rockets aimed at them
from many of the Hezbollah-related activities.
We have introduced as recent as yesterday a sanctioning
bill and would like to hear your comments on that how that
might be effective, how we could potentially adjust that to
make it an effective tool for the administration to address
many of the terrorist activities that we all have come to know
and read about on a regular basis.
So I look forward to your testimony and I yield back, Madam
Chair.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Meadows. Mr. Schneider of
Illinois.
Mr. Schneider. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member
Deutch, for convening this timely hearing. Thank you to the
witnesses for being here today.
Lebanon is at a precipice, facing the specter of renewed
sectarian strife fueled by the civil war in Syria. Over 1
million refugees have crossed the border, putting extreme
pressure on Lebanon's already stretched resources.
At the same time, Hezbollah fighters are active in Syria,
fighting on behalf of the Assad regime, while Sunni extremists
are increasingly active inside Lebanon. It is in this context
that the U.S. must understand the dynamics of the challenges in
Lebanon and develop intelligent policy to protect our interests
and security and the security of our allies in the region.
In that vein, yesterday I was pleased to join my friend,
Mark Meadows, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel to
introduce legislation targeting Hezbollah's global financing,
drug trafficking and propaganda programs.
Hezbollah's activities threaten not just peace and
stability in Lebanon but throughout the region, in particular
our key ally, Israel. The Hezbollah International Financing
Prevention Act would provide the administration with a strong
enforcement mechanism to combat Hezbollah's terrorist financing
that is destabilizing throughout the Middle East.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how best to
address this global financial network and what tools we can
provide the administration to help go after these illegal
networks.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Schneider. Mr. Higgins of
New York.
Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Madam Chair.
You know, Lebanon is a microcosm of, I think, the general
problem that we deal with in the Middle East. It is highly
pluralistic. It has a history of civil war over 15 years. It
was probably the first minority-led regime in the Middle East
behind Iraq and currently Syria.
Hezbollah, Party of God, is a Shi'a organization bent on
violent jihad. They act as a proxy for Iran, Syria and
Venezuela. They have a presence in North America, including 15
American cities.
They have about 60,000 missiles, medium and long range, and
they sit at the northern border of Israel. Getting Lebanon
right but also recognizing that America's role in this is going
to be very, very limited and we have got to find a way to
influence it without getting entangled in it, which I think is
the larger problem that we deal with in the Middle East.
So with that, I will yield back the balance of my time and
look forward to the testimony.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you very much, Mr. Higgins, and
thank you to all of our members.
I am very pleased to introduce our witnesses. First, we
welcome Mr. Lawrence Silverman, who is Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs at the Department
of State.
Prior to this position, Mr. Silverman was director of
Israel and Palestinian Affairs and focused primarily on the
Middle East, serving overseas in Jordan and Syria and in
Washington as special advisor to Assistant Secretary of Near
Eastern Affairs, William Burns.
Mr. Silverman began his State Department career in South
Africa and Namibia where he was a member of the U.S. team that
negotiated the agreement leading to the independence of that
country and the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. Job
well done.
We also have with us, and we thank him for being here, Dr.
Matthew Spence, who was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Middle East policy in February 2012. Prior to
joining the Defense Department, Dr. Spence served as special
assistant to the president and senior director for
international economic affairs at the National Security
Council, and from '09 to '11 he was senior advisor to the
national security advisor at the White House.
Thank you very much, both of you gentlemen, for joining us,
and Mr. Silverman, we will begin with you.
STATEMENT OF MR. LAWRENCE SILVERMAN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT
SECRETARY, BUREAU OF NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
STATE
Mr. Silverman. Thank you very much, Chairman Ros-Lehtinen,
Ranking Member Deutch, distinguished----
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. You could put the microphone a little bit
closer.
Mr. Silverman. Is that better? Thank you very much,
Chairman Ros-Lehtinen and Ranking Member Deutch, distinguished
members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for inviting me to testify on Lebanon, a country
whose stability is central to U.S. interest in the region.
This is a key moment for Lebanon. The massive refugee
influx, the largest per capita in the world, is an urgent
humanitarian crisis. Lebanon, as you say, just registered its
1-millionth Syrian refugee, representing over 20 percent of its
population.
Lebanon faces rising security and economic challenges. The
United States is responding to these challenges because we want
a stable secure Lebanese partner. In the midst of these
challenges, Lebanon's political leaders have passed two of
three political hurdles this year.
The March 20 approval of Prime Minister Salam's cabinet
after months of stalemate is welcome. So is the government's
agreement on a ministerial statement and a vote of confidence
that empowers it to address all issues, unlike its predecessor.
The government includes eight members from the March 14
coalition, eight members from the March 8 coalition and eight
others without formal affiliation. It is an improvement over
its predecessor in that nearly all factions are represented in
a careful balance. How we will work with the government depends
on its policies and its actions.
President Suleiman's term in office is scheduled to end on
May 25th. United States strongly believes that Presidential
elections, the third hurdle, should be conducted on time,
freely and fairly and without foreign interference. That, of
course, goes for parliamentary elections as well. We hope the
interest that produced agreement on the cabinet will prevent a
vacancy in the presidency.
Lebanon faces a porous border with Syria that eases
terrorist infiltration, Hezbollah's weapon stockpiles that lie
beyond government authority and the need to implement U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1701 which calls for the
disarmament of all armed groups.
Political and sectarian differences have been intensified
by the war in Syria. Hezbollah entered that war to protect the
Assad regime and to do the bidding of its foreign sponsors.
Syrian aircraft and artillery violate Lebanon's borders with
impunity.
Lebanese towns near the border, such as Arsal, have borne a
particularly heavy burden. A stretched Lebanese Armed Forces
has acted to maintain internal security. The LAF has recently
undertaken a major operation in Tripoli that has made some
progress toward restoring calm and there may be upcoming
operations in the Bekaa.
The LAF has the political support to do these operations.
The LAF has also had counterterrorism successes last year and
this year, capturing high-profile terrorists including a
facilitator for al-Qaeda-affiliated groups responsible for a
spate of suicide bombings.
My colleague, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Spence,
will provide details of our assistance to the LAF. But let me
emphasize the importance of the relationships we have formed
through our assistance to the LAF and to the Internal Security
Forces, as Madam Chairman mentioned.
We seek to increase this assistance in order to build the
LAF's capabilities to secure its borders with Syria. Let me
also emphasize at the outset that we continually assess our
assistance to ensure that no terrorist organizations including
Hezbollah influence or benefit from our assistance.
We believe we have an excellent record in this regard. As
you know, Saudi Arabia plans to provide $3 billion in aid to
the LAF. We are in contact with Saudi Arabia and with France to
promote the complementarity that some of you mentioned in order
to maximize the growth of the LAF's capabilities.
The Saudi aid in no way obviates the need for continued
U.S. assistance which is crucial to meeting needs and building
relationships. Deputy Assistant Secretary Spence and I will be
travelling to France later this month to engage in continued
discussions on just this subject.
Madam Chairman, half of the 1 million Syrian refugees are
under the age of 18. The refugees reside in host communities,
in rented rooms, unfinished buildings or informal tented
settlements throughout the country.
The United States has provided now some $370 million in
assistance to help cope with this burden. We urge other
countries that have not delivered on their pledges to Lebanon
to do so now.
The World Bank estimates that the Syria crisis will have
cost Lebanon $7.5 billion by the end of this year and will cut
GDP, real GDP growth, by 2.9 percent this year. Reserves of
offshore natural gas offer one potential ray of optimism but to
date the lengthy political stalemate and the maritime boundary
dispute with Israel have prevented further exploration.
We hope the new government will continue efforts to find an
arrangement regarding this dispute that will allow the Lebanese
people to benefit from these resources.
Madam Chairman, in the face of all of these challenges,
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Lebanese President
Michel Suleiman mobilized support for Lebanon last September by
launching the International Support Group for Lebanon.
This group must be an active vehicle for international
support. In 2 days I will join other members of this group and
representatives of the LAF to discuss how we can further
address Lebanon's security assistance needs.
The United States is also committed to helping end impunity
for assassinations and political violence in Lebanon. We
strongly support the special tribunal for Lebanon, which has
begun trials of those suspected of assassinating former Prime
Minister Rafic Hariri and 21 others. The Lebanese people
deserve justice.
Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member Deutch, members,
Lebanon has had partners to see it through its darkest periods.
The Taif Accord helped end the civil war. U.N. Security Council
Resolutions 1559 and 1701 helped structure a return to
stability.
The Baabda Declaration obligated all Lebanese parties to
stay out of regional conflicts. It needs to be implemented by
all parties. The United States will remain a partner promoting
a stable, secure and sovereign Lebanon free of foreign
interference and able to safeguard its interest. That is in our
interest.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Silverman follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
----------
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Silverman. We appreciate
it.
Dr. Spence.
STATEMENT OF MATTHEW SPENCE, PH.D., DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF DEFENSE FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Mr. Spence. Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member Deutch
and other distinguished members of this committee, thank you
for the opportunity to speak with you about the security
situation in Lebanon, the importance of our partnership with
the Lebanese Armed Forces and thank you for your comments
calling attention to the critical nature of this issue right
now.
The impact of the Syrian conflict on Lebanon is stark. I
visited Lebanon in January with the purpose of evaluating
first-hand the deteriorating security situation there. I met
with President Suleiman, General Kahwagi and other senior
Lebanese officials and members of the Lebanese Armed Forces.
It was very clear to me that more than ever United States
security cooperation is essential to helping maintain Lebanon's
stability. This is essential for America's national interests
as well as that of Lebanon and America's allies and partners in
the region.
Just last week, as many of you have noted, the United
Nations reported there are now more than 1 million refugees in
Lebanon from Syria. That is equal to over 20 percent of the
population of Lebanon.
It is a figure that rightly gives all of us pause. Now,
despite Lebanon's official disassociation policy regarding the
Syrian conflict, Hezbollah is militarily and, I would say,
nefariously involved in Syria and sectarian tensions are
spilling over increasingly over the Syria-Lebanon border.
Lebanese towns and villages near the border with Syria are
regularly experiencing shelling from Syria both by the Syrian
regime and by Syrian opposition forces and terrorists.
The Syrian conflict is in fact incubating extremism on both
sides of the sectarian divide. One of the most concerning
aspects of the Syrian conflict from the U.S. security
perspective is that it is attracting foreign fighters from
across the region and from around the world.
We assess that there are now significantly more foreign
fighters in Syria than there were foreign fighters in Iraq at
the height of the Iraq war. The Assad regime is receiving
active support from Iran and from Hezbollah. This is
unacceptable.
Many other foreign fighters are finding their way into a
number of fighting units including terrorist groups, the al-
Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. These
foreign fighters are becoming battle hardened and they are
gaining experience that could have destabilizing effects in the
years to come.
Both the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and al-Nusra
Front have established a presence in Lebanon and they are
seeking to increase their cooperation with Sunni extremist
groups already operating there.
And I would also add that terrorist attacks in Lebanon are
on the rise. Since the beginning of 2014 alone, nine suicide
attacks have hit Shi'a population centers and Lebanese Armed
Forces targets. But those are not the only attacks.
Last year, two Sunni mosques were bombed and a leading
Sunni politician and former Ambassador to the United States was
assassinated. Leaders from across Lebanon's political spectrum
have condemned these attacks rightly so and called for unity
and cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces.
The Lebanese Armed Forces have taken a variety of bold
measures to maintain stability in Lebanon and counter the
destabilizing effects that the Syrian conflict risks to
Lebanese security. They have taken important steps but, of
course, there is more, far more to be done.
In the last 7 months, we have seen our partners and the
Lebanese special forces deploy to Sidon for counterterrorism
operations, to Tripoli to conduct stability operations and
Arsal to provide security for the population affected by
Syria's instability.
In fact, in the past few days the Lebanese Armed Forces and
the Internal Security Forces of Lebanon have successfully
conducted large-scale operations in Tripoli based on the new
government's Tripoli security plan that plans to stem the
violent sectarian violence in that city.
Now, unfortunately, the LAF's willingness and commitment to
exercise its role as the sole legitimate defense force in
Lebanon has made it a target as well and just over a week ago
we have seen Lebanese armed forces personnel targeted as a
result.
Now, in the face of these rising challenges the LAF has
demonstrated considerable unity, fortitude and professionalism
as evidenced in the recent counterterrorism success. And the
counterterrorism fight that Lebanon faces, of course, is not
just in Lebanon's interest but in our interest as well.
To fight successfully against terrorism, an army must be
well equipped, properly trained and supported by its partners.
That is why the United States' role is so important.
As my interaction in Lebanon with a variety of political
and military officials has confirmed, strengthening the
Lebanese Armed Forces is essential at this time when sectarian
tensions are increasing due to the Syrian conflict.
U.S. assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces has helped
strengthen its capacity and support its mission to secure
Lebanese borders, defend the sovereignty of the state of
Lebanon and implement U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1559
and 1701.
Significantly, strengthening the LAF will help combat
Hezbollah by undermining Hezbollah's justification for
maintaining its arms as will Hezbollah's false claim to be
acting in the interests of the Lebanese people.
In conclusion, Madam Chairman and Ranking Member Deutch, I
would say that the challenge of supporting the Lebanese people
and the security and stability of the Lebanon state is no more
important than it is right now.
The Lebanese Armed Forces is a critical pillar of Lebanon
stability and its commitment to curtailing sectarian fighting
and terrorism has been a significant factor in preventing
Lebanon from descending into greater violence.
Our position is to work closely with you to continue that
support. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Spence follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
----------
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you to both gentlemen for excellent
testimony. We will begin our question and answer period.
U.S. security cooperation is essential to helping Lebanon
maintain stability or at least to help fend off a second civil
war.
From Fiscal Year 2009 to 2013, the U.S. allocated nearly
$\3/4\ billion for the Lebanese security forces. I recognize
the need to send assistance to the LAF and ISF in order to
support a stable and secure Lebanon and in order to protect our
U.S. national security interests.
However, I also recognize that this is an outrageously high
amount of money, equipment and training to dedicate to a
Lebanon that has never really been stable nor free from the
influence of outside actors.
I commissioned a GAO report on U.S. security assistance to
Lebanon which was released in two phases, as you know. GAO
found that both State and DoD were deficient in their
assessments in evaluating the effectiveness of our security
assistance to Lebanon and also deficient in their monitoring of
the security equipment transferred to the LAF and ISF.
Both State and DoD concurred with the GAO's findings and
recommendations. And so I ask what steps have both agencies
taken to ensure that these deficiencies and gaps have been
properly addressed in order to maximize the effectiveness of
our security assistance to Lebanon and why were these steps not
implemented from the beginning? And I will continue.
Mr. Silverman, you mentioned the emergence of a possible
hydrocarbon industry for Lebanon in your testimony. However, as
you mentioned, there is this unresolved maritime border dispute
between Lebanon and Israel which has prevented exploration,
delaying any potential investment, and the uncertainty over the
future of the Lebanese Government and the instability by all
the sectarian violence also play major roles in this.
The administration has been desperately trying to convince
Lebanon not to drill in disputed waters until this boundary
dispute is resolved, as you mentioned. Can you discuss some of
the options we are presenting to try to resolve this dispute
and to prevent Lebanon from drilling before a resolution is
found?
And on the elections, preparations are under way for a
contentious Presidential election. The atmosphere is charged.
It could potentially be delayed due to sectarian struggles, and
last week as we know the Lebanese forces leader formally
announced his candidacy.
What are we doing to help Lebanon ensure that these
elections will truly be free and fair and transparent, and what
are the probability that these elections will be held on time
when Hezbollah could be a major factor in all of this?
And finally, secret talks with Hezbollah--it has been
reported late last year that the administration is in secret
talks with Hezbollah with the U.K. acting as intermediary.
Reports suggest that the administration was willing to warm up
to a direct relationship in the future but we have to remember
this is a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization that
is supported by the world's foremost state sponsor of
terrorism, Iran, and continues to actively carry out terror
attacks against our ally, Israel.
Are these talks going on still and is the administration
viewing a warming of relations with Hezbollah as having a
possible positive outcome, incredibly enough? And I will refer
to you.
Mr. Silverman. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I will deal with
the last couple of questions and then we will both deal with
the question regarding the GAO report.
First of all, on your last question about our talks
continuing, they can't continue because they never existed. Let
me say that categorically. It is totally false and we made that
clear at the time and not only is it something we are not
doing, it is not something that we would do for many of the
reasons that you cited.
You didn't mention as well we have had terrorist incidents
like the Burgas bombing, you know, in Bulgaria and testimony
that came out during the trial in Cyprus, which was clear,
again, about Hezbollah's role in terrorism. So let me be
absolutely categorical on that point.
Regarding the Presidential elections, we certainly hope
that they will not be delayed. We are making our views
absolutely clear and I believe that Lebanon is a place that
values the opinion of the United States Government and the
administration.
These elections need to take place on time, according to
the constitution and without foreign interference, and I
believe strongly that that is exactly what the Lebanese people
want. The Lebanese people, frankly, I think were skeptical that
a government could be formed and then it was, and then after
that they said but you will never have a ministerial statement
and a vote of confidence but then we did have it and it was
done----
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Let us get to the GAO because I know our
time is limited. Thank you.
Mr. Silverman. Okay. Good. Can I just say one thing about
the maritime----
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Sure.
Mr. Silverman [continuing]. The maritime position? Sorry.
We are actively working and we had an official there last week
to try to encourage that kind of arrangement between Lebanon
and Israel to find that arrangement which is mutually
acceptable.
So otherwise companies find it difficult. They need a kind
of certainty to make an investment in Lebanon. So Lebanon is
the one that loses out by not moving--being able to move
forward with this legislation. So let me turn to Deputy
Assistant Secretary Spence.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you.
Mr. Spence. Sure. Thank you. I would say we are very
focused on the issues raised in this report. We are committed
to reducing the destabilizing role of Hezbollah and Iran, so
thank you for raising the issues in this report.
On the specific question you have, end use monitoring is a
critical part of that effort. The report, as you know,
Chairman, highlighted that although the Office of Defense
Coooperation Beirut had entered some of the end use monitoring
information into the computer database, they had not kept
physical security checklists for the required 5 years. That
needed to be changed. It has been changed and we continue to
look at the recommendations to the report carefully.
I would also note that the report helpfully raised that the
Lebanese Armed Forces have an excellent track record with end
use monitoring. So, again, this is an important issue that we
follow. It is critical to countering Hezbollah and we continue
to have this as an ongoing process to follow.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, and I am way out of time so
maybe we will get to the other parts later. Mr. Deutch is
recognized.
Mr. Deutch. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Deputy Assistant
Secretary Silverman, has the flare-up in violence directly
related to Hezbollah's involvement in Syria eroded support for
Hezbollah in the Shi'ite community and is there any space for
an alternative to Hezbollah?
Mr. Silverman. Thank you, Congressman. I think that
Hezbollah has been criticized and taken criticism for its
involvement in Syria. This is literally the dragging of a
people into a war that they did not want and I really think
that is reflected in public attitudes toward Hezbollah.
And then, of course, there have been the casualties that
Hezbollah has taken. So I think when you see what has happened
in Tripoli over the last few days after--between 20 and 30
killed that--and I am hoping you are seeing it, a kind of a
rising of a greater consensus both among political leaders and
among--certainly among the population that Hezbollah has
brought this strike-counterstrike because of their--they
initiated the involvement in Syria and people do not want the
violence, which has cost them dearly economically.
And so I think there is a real view that enough is enough
and that has caused a greater political consensus why we have a
government, why we have a ministerial statement that is
different and less favorable toward Hezbollah.
Mr. Deutch. So how can the United States and the
international community strengthen non-Hezbollah factions like
the March 14th movement ahead of elections?
Mr. Silverman. I think that is essential. We need to
strengthen the institutions. I mentioned the international
support group and President--which helped President Suleiman in
that critical period very late last year, and our ongoing
support for moderate voices in Lebanon and to continue our
economic assistance, which is very important.
If we can help them reach this agreement on petroleum--
potential petroleum resources that can be a huge boon in coming
years and helping them deal with the burden because let me
emphasize the burden of the refugees. We always talk about
refugees.
We need to talk more about the host communities that are
affected by the refugees and some of our aid is going to that.
So I think in many ways we are trying to build up what we
consider the responsible voices and I think calling for on-time
elections according to the constitution help that. Thank you.
Mr. Deutch. Thank you. Dr. Spence, some reports indicate
that Lebanese Armed Forces are losing the perception of
neutrality due to seemingly greater focus on cracking down on
Sunni extremists over Hezbollah-affiliated militias. Is that a
trend you are seeing?
Mr. Spence. You know, one thing that we are most concerned
about is making sure the Lebanese Armed Forces can remain a
multi sectarian impartial defender of the legitimate use of
force for the Lebanese people.
You know, we have seen the Lebanese Armed Forces deploying
more on the border and it has been extremist and has often been
Sunni extremists which have been moving more. So that is for
two reasons.
That is mostly because it has been Sunni extremists have
been moving more across the border and right now Hezbollah is
actually able to freely pass through the border legally right
now.
Mr. Deutch. And has--make that last point again.
Mr. Spence. So right now the Sunni extremists are the ones
who are crossing illegally so it is there. As more border
checkpoints have been turned over to the LAF that is what they
are doing. Hezbollah is able to pass freely over the border.
Mr. Deutch. Well, has U.S. training on border control
affected the ability of Iran to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah in
any way then?
Mr. Spence. It is--you know, it is difficult. I think one
thing that we tried to do through our 1206 funding is to
provide greater border security and that is everything from
monitoring issues across the border. It is allowing the
Lebanese Armed Forces to take control of additional border
checkpoints that were in control of others before.
That is also setting up new checkpoints. So the border
between Lebanon and Syria is one of the most difficult issues
we face. But I think that is a key thing that we actually have
been able to strengthen the LAF's ability to strengthen the
border along the way.
Mr. Deutch. Thank you. And finally, Mr. Silverman, you have
got 30 seconds left. Just make the case for greater American
attention paid to Lebanon. We have, as you know, a hard enough
time rallying support and the attention of the American people
for any number of crises. Tell us why Lebanon is so important.
Mr. Silverman. Thank you, Congressman. Assistance to
Lebanon and maintaining the stability and sovereignty of
Lebanon is really critical to our interests in the region.
We need to in effect kind of try to do our best to wall off
both Lebanon and other neighbors, and I am talking here about
Jordan in particular as well, from the Syrian conflict. We need
to show that moderate voices have a place and can run a country
and, you know, we don't often--unfortunately, we only talk
about Lebanon as an adjunct to the Syria crisis and the war.
That should not be. Lebanon is a normal country trying to
do its best and needs to be supported--this is what the
Lebanese people want, I believe. This is not an extremist
population. We should not abandon this population to whether--
throughout the region.
I would say even that the Syrian population is not an
extremist population and they shouldn't be abandoned either. So
I think it is critical that our assistance is building up the
only national institution right now that exists in the wake of
this civil war. It comes from a very low baseline, which is why
maybe the figures are so high. But I think there is a huge
investment and a huge value to maintaining stability and
sovereignty in Lebanon. Thank you.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Deutch. And we will turn
to Chairman Steve Chabot of Ohio.
Mr. Chabot. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman, and thank
you for calling this important hearing this morning. It really
couldn't come at a more critical time as Lebanon's security
continues to be challenged by forces both within and outside
its borders.
Hezbollah, of course, continues to be the biggest threat to
peace and security in the region. As Lebanon gears up for a
Presidential election next month and parliamentary elections in
the fall, Hezbollah can be counted on once again to disrupt,
intimidate and coerce as it attempts to circumvent the will of
the Lebanese people.
Mr. Silverman, let me first of all begin with you. What is
the Obama administration doing in its talks with Tehran to stop
the Iranian trafficking of weapons to Hezbollah and what kind
of discussions are you having with the present Government of
Lebanon about it providing cover and protection to Hezbollah?
Mr. Silverman. Thank you, Congressman. Let me make one
point first, which is that we understand--all of us understand
that this is not a perfect situation in Lebanon. What we worry
about and why we focus on the value of this assistance is what
would be if we were not providing this assistance, if we left
the field to others, let me just--let me just say that.
You know, the talks with Iran that are going on in Vienna
right now are focused exclusively on the nuclear issue. Our
policy regarding Iran and the actions that we take against
Iran's destabilizing policies in the region, destabilizing
actions in the region, remain the same, as does our entire
sanctions structure against that.
It is absolutely essential that we stand by our allies in
the region. That is one of the ways to deal with Iran is by
building up our allies in the region.
Mr. Chabot. Excuse me. Let me just stop you. That is very
nice but please answer the question. What are you saying to
Iran about them--weapons into Hezbollah? That is the question.
Mr. Silverman. Well, our policy has been clear throughout
that we oppose and reject and are calling for an end to----
Mr. Chabot. Are you saying that to Iran?
Mr. Silverman. Yes, they have.
Mr. Chabot. You are discussing in those discussions with
Iran the weapons going to Lebanon and don't do it?
Mr. Silverman. We have made our--Congressman, we have made
our views very clear.
Mr. Chabot. Is part of those policies----
Mr. Silverman. But the talks in Vienna are focused on the
nuclear issue. But we have never stayed away----
Mr. Chabot. So you are not saying anything about that in
those talks?
Mr. Silverman. Those talks are for the nuclear issue.
Mr. Chabot. Okay. Let me move on. Dr. Spence, what is the
LAF, which I believe we have given something like $1 billion of
U.S. aid to, what are they doing to curtail Hezbollah's power?
Mr. Spence. I think one of the--one of the most important
things the Lebanese Armed Forces does to curtail Hezbollah's
power is to become the sole legitimate force to provide for the
security and stability of Lebanon, and what that does,
importantly, is that counters Hezbollah's narrative that only
Hezbollah can provide for the use of force and the protection
of security of the Lebanese people.
So the more that we can strengthen the LAF it takes away
one of Hezbollah's best arguments which we think is a wrong
argument--that they are the ones defending the Lebanese--the
Lebanese people.
Mr. Chabot. Okay. What is the administration currently
doing in diplomatic discussions with our international partners
about Hezbollah's international financial presence and the
seeming tolerance of Hezbollah by allies--our allies like
France and U.K. and the E.U. in general, despite the E.U.'s
terrorist labeling of Hezbollah's military wing?
And also, because I have only got about a minute to go, do
you see any prospects for Hezbollah an alternative within the
Shi'a community in Lebanon? And I know that is probably a tall
order when Hezbollah gets so much of its funding and weapons
from outside sources like Iran.
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, on your first point, we have
been advocating for a long time that our European colleagues
join us in our--in sanctions and measures taken against
Hezbollah's financial networks.
And finally, last year they took this, as you say, this
designation of the military wing. Let me make clear we don't
distinguish between political and military wings of Hezbollah.
For us they don't exist.
They should have designated Hezbollah full stop but they
took this step and I will tell you, because I have been
involved in it and others, it is a constant effort to push for
actual implementation. We are--kind of interior structures are
dealing with the Europeans constantly to make that designation
effective.
I will just tell you one thing that literally just today
Germany banned a group that it considers raising money for
Hezbollah. That is a positive step. I hope it will be echoed by
others. I think there is much more that can be done on this
score and we have to do it.
With respect to your second question, Congressman, there
are other--Hezbollah does not represent all Shi'a--Lebanese
Shi'a. There are other politicians. There are other political
groups that represent the Shi'a.
Like I said, I believe that there can be a greater
consensus, a broader consensus among the Lebanese people that
will build up that reject what Hezbollah has done in dragging
them into a war which they never wanted.
Mr. Chabot. Thank you. My time has expired.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you very much. Excellent questions,
Mr. Chabot. And we will turn now to Mr. Schneider of Illinois.
Mr. Schneider. Thank you very much and again thank you for
your testimony. Mr. Silverman, in your response to one of the
earlier questions you mentioned that Lebanon is a normal
country trying to do its best, and I might take issue it is a
normal country. I see Lebanon more as a delicate balance of an
ethnic jigsaw that has been for a long time trying to maintain
that semblance of balance.
My question specifically is with the inflow of over 1
million refugees from Syria--what is happening to that balance?
What is happening from an economic standpoint, from a
demographic but more importantly from a sectarian standpoint?
Mr. Silverman. First of all, Congressman, thank you. I
mean, that is right. Lebanon is not in a normal situation. I
take the point. What I wanted to stress was it has many normal
issues that any government has to do.
For example, it needs to pass two pieces of legislation,
two decrees, or else you will not see the exploration of these
petroleum resources. The previous government couldn't do it
because it wasn't empowered.
This government is empowered. That is one of the things it
has to do. It is also facing the civil servants' effort to
raise wages. So they do deal with the normal thing.
Clearly, Hezbollah's dragging of Lebanon into this war has
raised sectarian divides and tensions and now that is what has
to be ratcheted back. That is why having this real government
that almost across the entire spectrum is so important and that
is why we feel that the political leaders must build upon the
two steps that they have taken by electing a President and then
carrying out the parliamentary elections.
That, in the end, is the best way of getting at the
sectarianism because it is a minority. There are sects but they
are a minority that--a small minority that promote sectarian
tension. This is what we saw in Tripoli. When the LAF came in
people welcomed it--please calm what is going on here and you
see this in Arsal.
So we believe very strongly there is the nucleus, the great
majority nucleus, that don't want any further sectarian divide.
It is having an incredibly damaging effect. Tourism, for
example--a lot of tourism from the Gulf. No, not under these
circumstances of the violence. So it is very practical for the
Lebanese. The losses that Congressman Deutch cited, for
example, are huge.
Mr. Schneider. Right. So as you see, as you said, 1 million
refugees have come in. There is no prospect at least on the
horizon for a settlement in Syria so they are likely to be in
Lebanon for a long time. What implication does that have? What
policy should the United States be pursuing to make sure that
doesn't lead Lebanon into further sectarian strife?
Mr. Silverman. I think one thing is if we, and it can't
just be the United States, as generous as we have been. We have
been the number-one donor, $1.7 billion total for the Syrian
conflict both in Syria--inside Syria and the region.
The international community has to step up to deal with the
effects of the refugee population so that host communities are
not feeling--not receiving fewer health services, less water
provision, schools, health clinics, all of these things because
when the host communities feel this that is potential--that is
a potential seed bed, you know, that can increase sectarian
tension.
And that is, I think, the best way to get at it, is to try
to accommodate the Syrian refugees for as long as they are
there and the Lebanese people and the Lebanese Government have
been very generous in this regard. But the international
community has to step up and try to manage this. That is all it
is managing.
Mr. Schneider. Okay. And with my minute left, let me turn
to Dr. Spence because that sectarian balance also has been
historically reflected in the makeup of the LAF and with so
many new refugees coming in, with the Hezbollah fighters now in
Syria that balance kind of is getting rejiggered. What impact
and what is being done to make sure that that doesn't lead to
sectarian fighting within the LAF?
Mr. Spence. I think--I think, look, you rightly point out
one of the concerns we have for changing the overall population
demographics of Lebanon and I think as you noted it is
something that stretches across all the different areas of
this.
We try to do it in a few ways. We think our engagement and
training with the Lebanese Armed Forces does help reinforce the
military professionalism about the idea of working with people
who came from very different backgrounds or there may be
sectarian fighting outside of the army.
That is one of the reasons why we have the IMET program.
The IMET program does help do real training, which isn't just
one off but it is getting an understanding how do units deal
with the difficulties when different people come together. It
is the fourth largest we have in the world.
That is--we have ongoing training programs within Lebanon
and it is also an issue that we follow very closely because if
we do see issues like that as we illustrated or as you
mentioned it will be very, very detrimental to the project we
are trying to achieve.
Mr. Silverman. May I just add something, Congressman?
Mr. Schneider. With permission.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Absolutely. Without objection.
Mr. Schneider. Thank you.
Mr. Silverman. Sorry. I just wanted to add that this goes
also for our assistance and our training of the Internal
Security Forces. They are, along with the LAF, sometimes
responsible for dealing with the aftermath of bombings of
people, assassination attempts, and for them to be able to do a
more professional job that allows for greater accountability
can build the confidence of the population. They need that
accountability for such acts. Thank you.
Mr. Schneider. Thank you. I yield back my time.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Schneider. Mr. Kinzinger
of Illinois.
Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you, Madame Chair, and thank you both
for being here. Thanks for your service and we appreciate your
time.
A couple of points I want to hit but first I want to make
some comments. I think the thing that is getting somewhat--
well, not really getting lost but that deserves some more
discussion is the role that the Syrian conflict is playing in
everything right now.
I believe that it was a dire mistake of the United States
to fail to enforce the red line that the President put out. I
believe that that further reinforced a perception that I think
is pretty close to reality--that America is retreating from the
Middle East, that America no longer has an interest in what
occurs in the Middle East, and I think this does nothing but
embolden our enemies and enemies of our way of life and enemies
of freedom.
I would like to remind everybody that there are about
160,000 dead innocent Syrians as a result of Assad's brutal
dictatorship. He has gone from using chemical weapons, though
he has not destroyed them as he has promised--he has gone from
using chemical weapons to now using an almost equally
terrifying thing called a barrel bomb where you pack a 55-
gallon-drum full of explosives and igniter fluid and drop it on
an innocent population and clear a block simply because you
don't want people present in a certain geographic location and
who cares who dies in the process.
So I think it is very important that as we discuss this we
remember the brutality that is occurring and I would encourage
the administration to get involved in what is going on in Syria
in a much bigger way--arming the moderate rebels, bringing down
the rebels that we don't agree with that are linked to al-Qaeda
and other extremist organizations.
The one thing I would like to say too, and I guess I will
ask this in the form of a question, in terms of the refugee
crisis in Lebanon, how is this destabilizing Lebanon? What is
the United States doing to try to mitigate some of the problems
that are coming along with that and also are you seeing bad
actors coming over the border simply pretending to be refugees
when in fact they seek to destabilize Lebanon?
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, thank you very much. On the
last question, this is a constant concern both for us and for
the host governments and, again, it is not Lebanon only.
Jordan, for example, faces the same and Turkey faces the same
problem.
So it is of concern. You may in any event, and it is
something that we are coordinating with our neighbors very
closely on to try to stop. And let me say, and this gets to the
remarks that you made earlier, we have sharply increased our
coordination with our allies who are also assisting the
moderate opposition and also coordinating more with our allies
on preventing support to extremists and preventing the flow of
extremists into Syria.
Is it satisfactory? Absolutely not, and nobody can be
satisfied with the situation, which is incredibly brutal. I
lived in Syria under the previous Assad but we all know how
absolutely brutal this regime is.
So there is that effort to get at not only the flow of
extremists but also the financing of extremists.
Mr. Kinzinger. I appreciate that and back to the Syria
thing a bit, I hope that--I mean, I hear from administration
officials that we are doing such a wonderful job in Syria,
which, I mean, and I understand your position. This is not
against you but I am not buying it and, you know, frankly, when
all our Middle East allies tell us that we are doing absolutely
nothing, I think it is pretty obvious that as people continue
to go through the meat grinder of innocent folks being killed
the United States is standing by when I think there is a lot
more we can do.
Let us talk about the situation of the Christian community
in Lebanon. I think this is something that when we talk about
the Sunni-Shi'a conflict sometimes it gets lost. Can you talk
to the situation of the Christians in Lebanon, sir?
Mr. Silverman. Thank you, Congressman. Yes. I mean, Lebanon
has a uniquely active and influential and political population
in Lebanon which has a unique role in the presidency, in the
leadership of the LAF.
Let me just say that, though, that does not mean, for
example, that all Christians are united in any particular
position including about Presidential candidates, as you know.
So the----
Mr. Kinzinger. They are not here either so----
Mr. Silverman. But the Christian community is absolutely
vital to Lebanon's future and it is, thanks to various
agreements over the years built into the system, the role--the
important role that they have and, of course, we are very
supportive of that role.
Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you, and thank you again for you all
being here and your service and, Madam Chair, thank you for
holding the hearing and I yield back.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, sir. Mr. Higgins of New York.
Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Madam Chair. I think, you know,
when we are dealing with Lebanon, you know, again, I think we
are dealing with a microcosm of the Middle East, which is, you
know, highly pluralistic.
In Lebanon you have 17 different religious sects. You have
over 50 percent Muslim population. The population in the Muslim
community is almost evenly split between Sunni and Shi'a. About
40 percent of the population is Christian in a nation of less
than 6 million people, with Lebanese Sunni jihadis and Shi'a
militia Hezbollah.
You know, the national armed forces has been viewed as
highly integrated and serving as a buffer between warring
factions and it was viewed historically as highly functional as
well. And some would argue that the Lebanese Armed Forces are
the only true national organization. Now they are in the
crossfire in a battle between Shi'a and Sunni.
I think the mistake that we make here in this committee and
as a nation is that we view, you know, the situation in Syria
as, you know, a bad guy, Bashar al-Assad, who clearly is. You
know, he kills 100,000 or more of his people through chemical
weapons. But on the other side, you have got al-Qaeda
affiliates. You have got Islamic extremists who are the best
fighters.
So we have these false choices here as though, you know,
because Bashar al-Assad kills 130,000 people through chemical
weapons the other side beheads people. You know, so pick your
choice of demise, I guess.
And I think the people unfortunately that are true in their
democratic aspirations for these countries, be it in Lebanon,
be it in Syria, be it in Egypt, they are the vast minority and
they don't know how to achieve military success because they
truly want, I think, freedom and democracy. But they are not
the majority of the people.
And the people who are taking up all the space in these
countries are the people who are fighters, not for freedom and
democracy but for power. Why do people continue to support
Bashar al-Assad who is a Alawite, which is about 7 percent of
the Syrian population, because if you are a minority you fear
that if the Sunni majority takes over you are going to get
slaughtered.
So, you know, these are issues that, you know, there are
not all these binary choices. We have got a lot of complexity,
a lot of nuance, a lot of gray area that we have to deal with.
I will just give you another example. In Iraq, I can
remember traveling there and meeting with Nouri al-Maliki, and
Nouri al-Maliki dismissed the congressional delegation's
concerns that there wasn't enough being done by his government,
a Shi'a, the majority in the country, to embrace the Sunni
community.
So he dismisses it by saying, I have other allies in the
region, and at that time what he was referring to was
Ahmadinejad, his Shi'a ally in Iran. Well, guess who was at the
White House a couple of months ago seeking help from the United
States to deal with al-Qaeda, who has reemerged as a major
influence in Fallujah? Nouri al-Maliki.
We are getting played all over that region and unless and
until that region realizes that they are a pluralistic society,
until they guarantee rights for minorities, these issues will
never be resolved. Your thoughts?
Mr. Silverman. Thank you, Congressman. I will say that we
firmly believe that the majority of the population of Syria are
not extremists. They are the loud--they are making a lot of
noise. They are brutal, absolutely.
You know, our Syria strategy is not just countering and
trying to bring about a political transition in Syria. It is
also about countering violent extremism, absolutely, and to
prevent the terrorists safe haven.
I will say that the Assad regime has manipulated this
issue. I mean, the policies of the Assad regime have acted as a
magnet for extremists to come to Syria. Then in reaction to
that or dealing it tries to draw a benefit from that by
presenting not just minorities but all Syrians with a choice.
It is either us or those extremists, and that is a false
choice too because what they are doing is actually attracting
extremism and strengthening extremism themselves. Let me--one
thing about--you mentioned Prime Minister Maliki. Iraq is now
experiencing the very detrimental and deadly effects of having
Islamic extremists in--through ISIL and the other groups and
now they are trying to counter them and it is disrupting the
elections that are going on right now.
So, clearly, like as you say there is a real cost to Iraq
that I think the prime minister recognizes and should
recognize. Let me also say that we have been categorical with
Prime Minister Maliki that Iraq needs to do its utmost to stop
Iranian assistance from coming through Iraq to Syria and much
more needs to be done on that score and we will continue
pressing him. Thank you.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Higgins.
Mr. Weber of Texas.
Mr. Weber. Thank you. Questions on three fronts and we will
probably start with you, Mr. Silverman. What would you say are
the top--we are going to be short on time so I am going to say
top two needs for the military, for the refugees and then the
government? What are those top two needs for each of those
three groups, and maybe Dr. Spence ought to address the
military but how do--and then what are the--what is your
answer--the top two needs of refugees and the government?
Mr. Silverman. For the refugees, Congressman, thank you, it
is that strong international support that prevents the refugees
from becoming any more of a political issue than it is now.
You have to deal with the demands. You know, Lebanese face
competition in jobs, competition in rents, competition in all
kinds of ways from the refugees. So we need to focus more on
the host communities and building up the host communities. We
are trying to do that.
Mr. Weber. And, obviously, that is housing and water and
jobs?
Mr. Silverman. Water, educational facilities.
Mr. Weber. And are we getting a lot of international
support or are we going most of it alone?
Mr. Silverman. You know, Congressman, I was in Kuwait with
Secretary Kerry at the last donors conference for the Syrian
conflict. It raised a record of $2.6 billion in pledges but
until a couple of weeks ago I think the figure was 14 percent
of those pledges have been delivered. Now the Kuwaitis, I
understand, delivered some $\1/4\ billion yesterday or the day
before but just within recent days and that is a good thing,
obviously.
Mr. Weber. Okay.
Mr. Silverman. But we need to have that follow-up.
Mr. Weber. And the government--how do we assist the
government?
Mr. Silverman. I think we assist the government by
assisting those responsible forces by calling for elections on
time by the constitution and trying to prevent outside
interference in the selection of leaders.
Mr. Weber. Are we hated over there?
Mr. Silverman. No, not by any means.
Mr. Weber. Not by any means.
Mr. Silverman. Not by any means, Congressman. No.
Mr. Weber. So us getting involved is going to be a good
thing categorically across the board?
Mr. Silverman. I believe that the Lebanese people value
very much value--I know the LAF values it but I think across
Lebanese society there are many, many strong ties to this
country, as you know.
Mr. Weber. But, obviously, not so with the Hezbollah parts
of the government. Let me just ask you a specific question. In
June 2000, the U.N. certified that Israelis had withdrawn and
all the Lebanese territory had been given back. But in August
2000, Lebanon's new cabinet approved a draft policy statements
securing Hezbollah's existence as an armed organization and
their guaranteed right to fight to remove Israeli occupation.
Is that still their policy?
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, I mentioned this ministerial
statement that the government finally agreed on which allowed
it to get its vote of confidence. In previous governments there
had been language which talks about a government endorsement of
the army, the people and the resistance, and everybody knew
what the term ``the resistance'' means--Hezbollah.
Mr. Weber. And so that is still in play?
Mr. Silverman. No, no, no. That is out now. Under this new
ministerial statement it now----
Mr. Weber. Okay. When did that take place? I missed that.
Mr. Silverman. That was just within the last month.
Mr. Weber. Okay. And I am sorry. I am running out of time.
Let me go over here to Dr. Spence.
Military--what is your suggestion?
Mr. Spence. You asked--Congressman, I would say there are
two that you asked for. One would be border security and the
other would be counterterrorism.
Mr. Weber. But with all due respect, Dr. Spence, we can't
even secure our own borders.
Mr. Spence. Well, I think--I think looking at this
situation it is all the more reason we just need to do as much
as we can to help the Lebanese Armed Forces secure their
borders and I think it is through the 1206 program that we can
try to do--that could try to do this.
Some of the equipment that we give to surveille the border,
which is very, very porous, includes radars and sensors. And I
think in these very difficult times to continue that support is
important, and then also for the for-military financing to
continue what we are doing for training, for vehicles, for
helicopters, for communications.
Mr. Weber. How do we ensure that none of those funds/
equipment are falling into the hands of Hezbollah?
Mr. Spence. I think we need to continue the end use
monitoring that we have, which is a critical part of our
strategy to support the LAF as well as to counter Hezbollah.
Mr. Weber. Are you aware of any of that making its way to
Hezbollah currently or in the past?
Mr. Spence. I think right now, as we said, making sure that
we limit the role of any of this equipment ending in--or
training in this area.
Mr. Weber. But that is not my question. Are you aware of
any of it having fallen into the hands of Hezbollah in the
past?
Mr. Spence. I think right now, Congressman, as I said, as
we look at it very carefully. We want to make sure to engage
senior Lebanese officials at a very robust level so we have
good lines of communication.
Mr. Weber. Is that a no?
Mr. Spence. Right now it is an answer that it is an ongoing
something that we look at. As far as the end use monitoring
that we have, having reviewed it carefully both on its own
right and then as a result of the GAO report, I feel confident
and good about our end use monitoring issues right now and we
continue----
Mr. Weber. You may feel confident and good but a lot of
people are still getting killed. So that is why I want to make
sure that nothing winds up in the hands of terrorists. Madam
Chair, I yield back.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you so much, Mr. Weber. Mr. Vargas
of California.
Mr. Vargas. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I appreciate
it. You know, one of the things I think is hard is for
Americans to keep score here in Lebanon--who is where and what.
I mean, the reality is that I think most Americans remember
Beirut as the Paris of the Middle East and a wonderful place.
Then there was the civil war and then there was all sorts
of conflict and then they were dragged in, and now there are
extremists and now supposedly they like us again.
But I guess the general question I would ask is a question
I think you began to answer. I would like you to expand. I
mean, I think we shouldn't leave the field--I think it would be
a mistake--because of extremists but I think a lot of Americans
just said to hell with it. You know, why are we there--why are
we spending money--why are we helping these guys.
I mean, at the end of the day we can't even keep score. Why
should we be there, Mr. Silverman?
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, thank you. I mean, I think your
point on keeping score why it is so confusing, there are so
many different factions and groups. That is exactly it.
It is a mosaic that needs to be protected. It is a
pluralistic system that needs to be protected. It is a multi
religious place which has leadership in the various branches
that represent all religions. That is why it is so important
just for the stability of where it is but also as a kind of a
lesson that this can work in the Middle East.
It is extremely important. So you don't have to know all
the details about Lebanon and I agree, it can be really, really
daunting to anybody from the outside.
May I just say one thing about the ministerial statement
that I didn't say earlier? This is not the kind of ministerial
statement that we would have drafted or not. It is a net
improvement with its respect to talking about resistance. But,
again, it is not what we sought or what we wanted but it is
something better than what we had, just to clarify. Thank you.
Mr. Vargas. No worries. Dr. Spence, you are a southern
Californian. How would you explain it to the guys back home? I
mean, they take a look at this and they say, you know, what the
hell are we doing there?
Mr. Spence. I think when I do and sometimes I am actually
asked this at home over the Thanksgiving table--you know, what
are you doing, especially coming back from here. I think what
happens in Lebanon is hugely important for a lot of reasons.
First, we owe something to the Lebanese people. These are
people aspiring for democratic government for their society.
They want to freely choose their leaders and to get that and
get the dreams they trying to--looking for they need security,
they need stability and they are deserving of that.
I think, second, that what happens in Lebanon doesn't stay
in Lebanon, that there is an impact around the region and our
closest allies and partners that border Lebanon are deeply
impacted by what happens in Lebanon. So what happens in Lebanon
matters much broader than what happens actually in the country.
And I think, third, there are enemies, like Iran, which are
trying to do things in Lebanon that are against America's
national interest, and the more that we can counter what Iran
is trying to do anyplace around the world strengthens the hands
of what we are trying to do against our enemies.
Mr. Vargas. And that, of course, makes sense to me. But
then how do you explain this? I mean, we say well, they want
democracy--we ought to help them out--and then they cozy up to
Hezbollah.
I mean, they cozy up to terrorist groups. They cozy up to
these groups that, you know, are anathema to what we believe in
and, again, that is hard to explain to the people back home why
we are spending, you know, $1.7 billion, you know, for these
guys that say yes, you know, we love America and Hezbollah.
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, just to say that the political
situation in Lebanon is unique. The responsible voices,
moderate voices are trying to deal with it as best they can.
That is exactly why, though.
Since Hezbollah has a role let us support the Lebanese
people that do not want to see this role in Lebanon and do not
want to see the country dragged into a foreign conflict and
that is why we need to support these other voices.
It is the situation in Lebanon now but I think we are all
dedicated and we really believe that we can make progress
toward a better situation in Lebanon. It doesn't have to have
this role.
Mr. Vargas. Okay. Before I yield back, I would say that,
you know, for someone like myself there is a very large
Christian contingent in the country, a very important
Christian--and it needs to be protected. It is one of the
reasons I think we should be there.
The Mennonite Christians have been there a long time, the
Orthodox, and so again I appreciate all your efforts. I just
think we have to do a better job explaining it to the American
people because the American people are getting tired and I
think we have to do a better job of communicating that.
But thank you so much for being here and thank you for
giving it your shot. Thank you.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you very much, Mr. Vargas, and good
answers, gentlemen. And so pleased to yield to Mr. Meadows, who
will be shepherding the Hezbollah bill through this session.
Mr. Meadows.
Mr. Meadows. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and thank each of
you for your testimony. I want to follow up a little bit on
where my friend and colleague from California because it gets
to be a very difficult sell.
You know, he may think it is difficult in California. It is
much more difficult in North Carolina, and so as we start to
look at that it is really about making sure that we stand with
our allies, that we create a safe and secure environment for
the Lebanese people. But even beyond that, if we look at
Hezbollah and their influence, speak to where they are showing
up other than in Lebanon.
I mean, you know, there have been reports of Latin America,
Canada, you know, Europe. Part of the difficulty as we see this
terrorist organization is that in Europe some view them as a
charitable organization.
You know, you start to look at the rhetoric that is very
difficult for me to defend. So Mr. Silverman, I can see you
are--you can comment on that.
Mr. Silverman. Can I comment as a former resident of North
Carolina?
Mr. Meadows. Yes, that is great. We will give you honorary
Tarheel status today.
Mr. Silverman. Thank you, Congressman. I think, obviously,
the swathe that Hezbollah cuts is indeed wide. It is
unfortunate that it took the attacks in Bulgaria, the attacks
in the operations in Cyprus and elsewhere and then, of course,
in Latin America but it is unfortunate that it took so long to
get Europe to designate. But, again, as I told you it is--in
our view it is an imperfect designation and in any event it
needs to be implemented to its fullest extent.
So that is why we need to--we really need and we do have a
very broad diplomatic effort both, let us say, foreign
ministries to foreign ministries but interior ministries to
interior ministries, counterterrorism people to
counterterrorism people what is the legislation that you need
to inhibit Hezbollah's ability to fund itself.
Of course, Hezbollah is getting a lot of money from Iran as
well and I think our sanctions on Iran help with that. I will
say, you know, you mentioned, you know, some of these
charitable organizations. I mentioned to you that today Germany
banned a group.
Mr. Meadows. Right.
Mr. Silverman. The name of that group was the Orphan
Children Project for Lebanon.
Mr. Meadows. Right.
Mr. Silverman. So that will give you an idea of what was
being--apparently allegedly was being used as a front.
Mr. Meadows. Well, in the sanction bill that we put forth
we are trying to with a scalpel provide an additional tool
without throwing a wide net to say okay, here is what we need
to go after.
We need to designate Hezbollah in another way to give us
the ability to go after them. With that kind of legislation any
concerns that you have there in terms of hampering what is
going on? Certainly, we don't want to get in the way of
Ambassador Sherman or anything else that is going on. Any
concerns that you would have there?
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, thank you, and of course we
share your sentiment fully about Hezbollah and that is why they
were designated in 1995 as a foreign terrorist organization.
There have been multiple executive orders. They were
designated in 2012, both Hezbollah as an organization and Mr.
Nasrallah for providing material support to the Assad regime.
We have blocked assets. We have criminalized U.S. interaction.
We have alerted financial institutions, et cetera.
With respect to the legislation itself, it was introduced
yesterday and we are examining it now in detail through the
interagency process. So I can't offer you a view here right now
and today but we will be coming back to you, obviously, with
our views on the legislation about what more can be done as
well.
But I think a lot of it has to do with implementing what--
in addition, implementing what we have and not just us, of
course. As I said, other countries as well, which do not have
all of the legislation that--and measures that we have in
place.
Mr. Meadows. Well, we tried to identify some of those holes
that we have been seeing and, honestly, have been working on
this since last July and have held off for a number of reasons.
And so as we look at that I would be interested in your input.
I want to close out with this last question.
There have been widespread reports. I just returned from
the region where you have Hezbollah among the Lebanese people.
It makes it very difficult to have a free society when you have
this terrorist group infiltrating not only neighborhoods but
many of them, perhaps the military, government throughout. I
would like each of you if you could speak to that, and I would
yield back.
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, for my part I would just say
this is exactly why we have to build up the other side of the
equation in Lebanon and that is what we are trying to do. I
don't believe--you know, I don't believe Lebanon wants--the
Lebanese people, the great majority of Lebanese people want the
kind of policies that Hezbollah is promoting and certainly not
its terrorism, certainly not its adventurism in foreign
conflicts in which they have no business being.
You know, the Lebanese people were very happy to see Syria
and Syrian troops leave their territory and that is why we need
to support those voices in Lebanon.
Mr. Spence. Congressman, the one thing I would add is it is
an issue that we need to work around the world to continue to
isolate the role of Hezbollah and it is something that we can
do.
I am sorry--to isolate the role of Hezbollah, to encourage
the role of what the Lebanese Armed Forces are doing. So we
work to isolate Hezbollah around the world. We need to work
with our partners in doing it because the United States can
play an important role on this but it is not something that we
can do alone.
Mr. Meadows. I appreciate the patience of the chair.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. And thank you for your leadership, Mr.
Meadows.
Dr. Yoho, another Florida colleague.
Mr. Yoho. Madam Chair, thank you. Gentlemen, I appreciate
your testimony here. Let me ask you, that $1.7 billion, how
long of a time span has that been that we have given that
foreign aid?
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, the $1.7 billion that I cited
was for the Syrian refugee crisis entirely. That was the $1.7
billion that----
Mr. Yoho. What time period is that? Is that----
Mr. Silverman. So that is since the conflict began in
2011----
Mr. Yoho. Okay.
Mr. Silverman [continuing]. And it refers to assistance
inside Syria for displaced people and also to all of the
neighbors that have received refugees.
Mr. Yoho. All right. And Mr. Silverman, you were stating in
your written statement that you stated the need to implement
U.N. SCR 1701 which calls for the disarmament of all armed
groups in Lebanon.
What is being done to do that and who is monitoring that?
How is it being done and what have we accomplished as far as
doing that?
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, I think we can all agree here
that not enough has been done, obviously, because Hezbollah has
not been disarmed and that is why we are trying to build up
both the Lebanese political system and its one national
institution, the only party that should carry arms in Lebanon,
which is the Lebanese Armed Forces.
But and this is brought up all the time. We use this
international support group as an international institution to
continue to push for the implementation of 1701. Obviously,
sir, we are not there yet. But we----
Mr. Yoho. Okay. So in your opinion would you say the U.N.
resolution to do that has not been very effective as of today?
Mr. Silverman. It has not been implemented, obviously, and
the Lebanese people I think want it implemented but it has not
been implemented.
Mr. Yoho. Dr. Spence, do you want to weigh in on that?
Mr. Spence. I would add to what Mr. Silverman said.
Mr. Yoho. Okay. Well, that comes down to then the next
question. What is the lifeblood of the substance that keeps
Hezbollah a force in having so much power? Is it--where does
the main source of their revenues come from?
Mr. Silverman. Well, I think Iranian support is very
important. You know, we have--in our various designations of
Hezbollah we have talked about their other efforts around the
world to garner funds and in some cases through criminal
enterprises.
We have talked about that they have benefitted from
narcotics trafficking over the years. So they do that. Let me
also say outside of the funds, you know, that, for example,
Hezbollah talks about its involvement in Syria is, for example,
protecting Shi'a heritage. Of course, that is not the----
Mr. Yoho. Right.
Mr. Silverman [continuing]. That is not what they are doing
in Syria at all and I think people realize that.
Mr. Yoho. Okay. Let me move on to this. What would be the
best way to stop or neuter that support for Hezbollah? We have
tried sanctions on Iran and what I have seen is Hezbollah has
grown. They have extended and gone over to the--you know, into
this hemisphere.
They are spreading throughout South America. There are
reports of them coming up through Central America, even
infiltrating into America. With these tough sanctions on Iran
they are still growing. What else can we do?
Mr. Silverman. Well, I don't think we should just dismiss
the fact that or dismiss an effort with Iran to get them to
stop supporting Hezbollah. But we also need, as Deputy
Assistant Secretary Spence mentioned, a full effort by all of
our allies and very close coordination with each other all
around the world to get at the financial--to get at the
financial networks.
Mr. Yoho. Okay. Dr. Spence, you were talking about the end
use monitoring of--I guess it is the armament they have. Who is
doing that, how often is it done and what are the metrics to
determine the effectiveness of that? Start with who is the one
doing that.
Mr. Spence. Sure. The--within--for the end use monitoring
it is with our country team within Lebanon who looks at what
they are actually doing. As far as a little more on the metrics
and how we do it and some more details, I think it is a very
important question that we owe you a level of detail. If it is
okay with you I would like to come back with you for--with some
more detail----
Mr. Yoho. I would like that if you could do that because--
--
Mr. Spence [continuing]. As to what this is so we can lay
it out in a little more precise detail.
Mr. Yoho. I think what I have here is we have given them
$180 million worth of equipment recently in weaponry. How do we
know, like Congressman Weber brought up, that it is staying
where it is supposed to, it is being used for what it is
supposed to be used?
And I think that is something that is very important that
we follow up on that. If Iran is working against the peace and
stability in Lebanon, what is the Middle East or the Islamic
world doing to pressure Iran to stop to help promote peace in
that area so that we can back down, you know, and people can
live their life the way they want to over there? What is that
whole Middle Eastern population doing to put pressure on Iran
and say stop?
Mr. Spence. I think doing that is extremely important and I
think what we made clear is Iran is having destabilizing
activities around the region. You know, it is not just Iran's
nuclear program. It is their support of groups like Hezbollah
and terrorist groups.
So what we try to do is make sure that when groups like
Hezbollah claim to speak for the Lebanese people and claim to
speak for all of Lebanon and provide security, that is not
true.
That is why we want to strengthen groups like the Lebanon
forces that actually can provide for the security and stability
of Lebanon and I think that is why it is important. Any
strategy that we take cannot just be a United States unilateral
strategy.
It is working closely with those partners who are in the
region who are closest and are most directly impacted by it.
Mr. Yoho. My time is out. I yield back.
Mr. Meadows. I thank the gentleman from Florida and the
chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Collins.
Mr. Collins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it.
I want to take just a little different tack but I think it
is within the purview of what we are doing here. The current
Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations remind me of the
Israeli-Lebanon relationship. Lebanon receives something for
giving up nothing.
In 2000, the Israeli military withdrew from southern
Lebanon. This led to an entrenchment of Islamist militants who
hit Israelis' population centers and remain capable of doing
so. In order to build good will within the region, time and
time again Israel has ceded land under its control in exchange
for little to nothing.
I feel the same is occurring with the current peace
negotiations between Israel and Palestinian Authority. Over 10
months of negotiations and Israel has released three rounds of
prisoners and the Palestinian Authority has gone to the U.N.
and received non-member state status.
As with Lebanon, Israel is giving up real concrete
concessions while other negotiating body is asking to give up
little. Earlier this year, it appears Secretary Kerry implied
that if Israel failed in its negotiations with the Palestinian
Authority, Israel could suffer an economic boycott.
What I want to know what other concrete concessions is
Secretary Kerry prepared to propose to the Palestinian
Authority in order to make the negotiations balanced. Mr.
Silverman.
Mr. Silverman. Thank you, Congressman. First, on your point
about Secretary Kerry's remarks, and we said this at the time,
that we really thought that they were taken very much out of
context because actually what the Secretary was saying and
restating was our absolutely opposition to what they call kind
of the delegitimization of Israel around the world including
boycotts and other resolutions, and we are totally opposed to
any kind of boycotting or steps against Israel.
Mr. Collins. In some ways could the Secretary not be also
delegitimizing Israel in the sense of the way we always seem to
ask Israel for the concessions, they give the concessions and
we get nothing in return? Are we not being an enabler at that
point?
Mr. Silverman. I don't--with respect to, Congressman, I
don't agree that we have been an enabler. This is a negotiation
between two parties and I will say that we were disappointed,
obviously, most recently by the Palestinian signing of these
applications to join conventions.
I have to say also we expressed disappointment on both
sides too and that gets at the settlements issue. But I think
we are--in effect our efforts at the peace process are not only
to have a result that is a Palestinian state alongside a secure
Israeli state but also that the Palestinians are obviously part
of a process that we think in the end will help secure Israel
further. We believe that.
Mr. Collins. Well, I think--look, expressing disappointment
and also seeing one side continually and, in my opinion, and
others give is really a hollow gesture in a sense.
Are they--and very quickly because I--but you can answer
this. I want to--will any concessions be asked of the
Palestinian Authority in the framework document that is
designed to bring up the final negotiations to the peace? Are
they being asked to do anything here?
Mr. Silverman. Well, I think, Congressman, that they are
being asked to come to an agreement with Israel on land.
Obviously, they are being asked to come to an agreement on the
status of refugees and the so-called, you know, and the right
of return.
They are being asked on a whole series of issues that they
are going to have to be, you know, difficult decisions and
compromises made as part of this process. Let me just add, I
mean, that this is not in the end a U.S. solution. These are
negotiations between the parties in which they are still
engaged literally as we speak there on the ground and they will
either come to an agreement or they won't come to a mutual
agreement.
Mr. Collins. That is understood and a given. I think the
issue here is the U.S.' role and are we taking a very strong
ally in Israel and working with the Palestinians. Are we
basically saying Israel, you are going to have to do and the
other is not. That is the problem I am having at this point. It
seems like we are taking an ally and making them give and
really not giving the Palestinian side.
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, I think throughout this process
and over many years we have been extremely sensitive to in
trying to promote the security of Israel including through
these negotiations, in addition to all the other bilateral
steps we take for Israel.
Mr. Collins. Okay, I will accept that. At this point, I do
want to change questions. You made a part and you said earlier
the administration doing--you know, I want to know what the
administration is doing in talks with Tehran to stop the
Iranian weapons supply and, you know, to Hezbollah and if it is
not, addressing it.
You said that you had expressed it but that is not really
part of the nuclear talks and my question is is why not because
many of us actually on this committee and others believe that
the plan that was put in place actually encouraged them to
continue their work in Syria while, you know, sort of focusing
attention to the nuclear conflict. Why should this not be a
part?
Mr. Silverman. Congressman, thank you. I think that we have
made absolutely crystal clear to Iran, to Tehran our opposition
and our--and that we want to see Iran's sponsorship of
terrorism and its active efforts to destabilize the region
ended. So I think that has been made crystal clear to the
leadership in Iran for many years.
This negotiation is focused on trying to get this nuclear
agreement. But let me be clear that that is one part of the
Iran issue for us, only one part of the Iran issue for us, and
that all of the other behavior that we have seen, the policies
and the actions that we have seen from Iran that are
unacceptable remain on the table and we will be pressing and we
are pressing these issues.
Mr. Collins. Well, as one member who believes that
sanctions work not only in Iran, it was working and should have
been left in--Hezbollah is the same way. We have got to do
more, the European allies. As someone also in the military this
is a nonmilitary step that we can do to actually control this.
My time is out. Madam Chair, I will yield back.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you very much. Thank you. Mr.
Connolly is recognized.
Mr. Connolly. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and thank you to
our panel for being here. Mr. Silverman, how would you describe
the U.S. interest in Lebanon? What is our interest?
Mr. Silverman. Most briefly, we have an interest,
Congressman, in the stability, security and sovereignty of a
democratic Lebanon with an open economy.
It is--obviously geographically it is absolutely critical
to the larger stability in the Levant and the region, and a
pluralistic democracy, I should add, because in some senses
Lebanon is unique in the region.
Mr. Connolly. Do you think that describes Lebanon today?
Mr. Silverman. I think that there are threats to Lebanon's
stability. There are threats to its security and----
Mr. Connolly. Yes, but would you see it, for example, as an
open and pluralistic democratic----
Mr. Silverman. I think that it has a, obviously, a
pluralistic population but I don't think the Lebanese would be
satisfied with it as a democracy or as a--you know, we have had
a long time here without the Parliament in session, for
example. So that is clear to the Lebanese people too that they
want a more active functioning democracy.
Mr. Connolly. How would you describe the role of UNIFIL in
trying to bolster that stability and security you talk about?
Mr. Silverman. I think that, obviously, we are supportive
of UNIFIL and the, roughly, 11,000 forces that it has there. I
think that it has really helped prevent a situation, imperfect
as it is, and we still have border incidents, obviously.
But I think the situation would be much worse without
UNIFIL. And let me add that UNIFIL does what it does in very
close cooperation with the LAF and the LAF has benefitted from
training with UNIFIL.
So, again, we are not talking about a perfect situation but
when we think about the security of Israel and we think about
stability on the border, while it is not perfect it is better
than it would be otherwise if UNIFIL had not been there.
Mr. Connolly. Dr. Spence, how would you describe the
coherence of the Lebanese military and its capability? And let
me just say I have been involved with Lebanon for 30-something
years and we have had several episodes where we thought we put
back together the Lebanese military only to see it splinter
along sectional lines, very tragically.
So what is different today, from your point of view, and do
you think U.S. military assistance has made any kind of
appreciable difference? I know you get paid to say of course it
has so we will stipulate you believe, of course, it has. But
qualitatively when you look at it, is it producing the results
we hoped for?
Mr. Spence. Okay. I actually feel that way as well so it
works out well. Look, I think that as you know well our goal
for the Lebanese Armed Forces--it has been our goal for a while
and it is our goal right now is to make sure that it continues
to be the sole legitimate force within Lebanon to provide for
the security and stability of the Lebanese people.
You know, what that does then it makes sure that the LAF is
a lot stronger than Hezbollah and also that it can defend the
threats to the state of Lebanon, which are enormous and are
only increasing.
Right now, I feel like the U.S. assistance has made a
concrete and important role and there are a few specific things
that I would say now that at least that I think about because
this is an issue that really keeps me up at night about what we
can do to increase this support more and help make the LAF to
be more effective.
For example, there are two things from last week that I
would point out. Just last week, the Lebanese Armed Forces
arrested 14 Syrians at a border checkpoint. Now, these Syrians
were trying to come in to Lebanon.
They were carrying fake Lebanese IDs as well as military
equipment, and as you know well, Congressman, the issue of the
border is hugely important. So the more we can do to help them
address that--the border is long, there is a lot more to go.
That is an important step.
The second thing that also happened last week is the
Lebanese Armed Forces captured a car bomb that was trying to
pass through a security checkpoint in the Bekaa Valley. Again,
these car bombs, when they are able to flow through freely,
cause enormous destruction and terror within Lebanon and there
is more that we are trying to do. So----
Mr. Connolly. Dr. Spence, thank you for those examples. I
have 35 seconds and the--oh, all right. Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
What about the coherence issue though? I mean, is the
Lebanese Armed Forces or are the Lebanese Armed Forces a
coherent whole in contra distinction to past decades when they
fell apart along sectional lines?
Mr. Spence. Right now as far as the trend lines go they are
facing enormous pressure. But I think our assessment is that
the coherence is working a positive direction. We think that
part of it is due to the leadership and bravery of the leaders
of Lebanese Armed Forces and that is where credit is due.
But also we think along the way our partnerships and
training have been able to help reinforce what they are doing.
That is our IMET programs. That is our FMF and, frankly, that
is the senior and ongoing organizational contacts that we have
between the United States military and the Lebanese Armed
Forces.
Mr. Connolly. And if the chair will allow just one
ancillary question, with respect to this subject, Saudi Arabia
has committed $3 billion--that is a lot--in military aid to a
small country, Lebanon.
Can you just tell us how does that augment or contradict
what we are trying to achieve in Lebanon in terms of building
up a coherent national armed force to protect the sovereignty
of the country, or does it?
Mr. Spence. I think on that and that grant was announced
actually before I was in Lebanon in January so it is something
we are focused on. First of all, I would say it does not
decrease the need for United States assistance to the Lebanese
Armed Forces.
The needs are significant and there is really no substitute
for the power and quality of American military training around
the world.
Mr. Connolly. But does the $3 billion--is it the United
States' point of view that this is a helpful augmentation of
what we have been trying to do or is it sort of a sideshow that
we are going to have to now manage?
Mr. Spence. So we think that more support for the Lebanese
Armed Forces is better and it depends on how it is managed, and
that is the reason that Larry and I actually are going to
France later this month to have discussions with the French of
exactly how it will be used and how do we make sure that we are
all pulling on the same oar with respect to the assistance.
Mr. Connolly. Mr. Silverman.
Mr. Silverman. May I just add, as I mentioned earlier in
the hearing on Thursday I will be in Rome with this
international support group and that is our message. The
assistance has to be complementary to it. It is what the
Lebanese Armed Forces needs. It is not what people want to give
them.
Mr. Connolly. Yes. Thank you both very much, and Madam
Chairman, thank you for your indulgence.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Connolly. Excellent
questions. And we are so grateful for your presence. Thank you
for your testimony, and with that the subcommittee is
adjourned.
Thank you, gentlemen.
[Whereupon, at 11:41 a.m. the committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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