U.S. Ambassador the U.N. Nikki Haley. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Mission to the UN
Hezbollah likes to present themselves as the defender of the Lebanese people, and the United States not only disagrees but sees them as a serious threat to their own people. U.S. President Donald Trump, in a press briefing on Tuesday with Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri, called Hezbollah a “menace to the Lebanese state, the Lebanese people, and the entire region.”
Trump, whose comments were posted to the White House website, went on to accuse Hezbollah of actions that threaten a new war with Israel and blamed them for enflaming the devastating Syrian civil war. And Hezbollah certainly isn’t doing it for Lebanon. “With the support of Iran, the organization is also fueling the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria,” said Trump of the terror organization whose militias are fighting for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. “Hezbollah likes to portray itself as a defender of Lebanese interests, but it’s very clear that its true interests are those of itself and its sponsor—Iran.”
Another American official also took time to warn the powerful U.N. Security Council of the dangers of Hezbollah and contrasted the United Nations’ relaxed approach to the terrorist organization with their obsession over Israel.
“Hezbollah’s illegal weapons build-up is putting the people of Lebanon in great danger,” said U.S. Representative to the U.N. Nikki Haley in comments release by her office. “Remarkably, this Council cannot even bring itself to use the word “Hezbollah” in recent resolutions or statements on Lebanon. Many here are happy to name Israel, time after time, but Hezbollah is somehow off limits. It’s absurd. Worse than that, it’s dangerous.”
Haley said the dangers posed by Hezbollah are “getting larger, not smaller.” Said the U.S. diplomat, “Hezbollah is a destructive terrorist force. It is a major obstacle to peace.”
Trump, in his comments, also pointed to Hezbollah’s growing arsenal as a threat to the region, in particular to Israel. Said the American leader, “The group continues to increase its military arsenal, which threatens to start yet another conflict with Israel, constantly fighting them back.”
For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri did acknowledge their commitment to the U.N. resolution that helped resolve the Second Lebanon War with Israel. He also thanked Trump for “support to maintaining peace and stability along our southern border” with Israel. However, Israel has repeatedly shown how Hezbollah has violated that U.N. resolution, including in reports to the IDF Blog.
And that is where Haley believes the U.N. should be addressing Hezbollah’s aggression. Noting that acknowledging and saying out loud the growing danger posed by the terror group “would be a significant step forward,” Haley said that “we must do more.”
Said Haley to the U.N. Security Council, “We must begin to get serious about enforcing our own resolutions that have been routinely violated by Iran and Hezbollah.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com July 25, 2017)