(Headline USA) After Democrats used the assurances of Israeli military aid last fall to persuade RINOs in Congress to help pass a Ukraine free-for-all, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers, lame-duck President Joe Biden pulled one final bait-and-switch, rerouting it instead to Israel’s de-facto enemy to help support anti-Semitic terrorism.
The Biden administration said it was shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it ostensibly tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terror group that is backed by Iran.
In separate notices sent to Congress, the State Department said it was moving $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt and $7.5 million for Israel toward supporting the Lebanese army and its government. The notices were dated Jan. 3 and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Most of the money will go to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which have a critical role in standing up the ceasefire that was agreed to in November following an all-out war between Israeli and Hezbollah that battered much of southern and eastern Lebanon for two months.
But critics argue that the Lebanese military is effectively a proxy for the terrorist organization because it is so heavily infiltrated by Hezbollah combattants. That likely means the money will instead be used to help plan further attacks on the embattled Jewish nation–state and longtime U.S. ally.
The Biden administration faced similar criticism for its funding of Hamas, including the decision to unfreeze billions in Iranian assets in the days prior to a deadly Oct. 7, 2023, massacre that left more than 1,200 Israelis dead, with about 250 more taken hostage.
The Lebanese kickback is intended to help the LAF deploy in the south of the country and supplement the role of the U.N. peacekeeping mission patrolling the so-called Blue Line, which has separated Israel and Lebanon since the end of a monthlong Israel–Hezbollah war in 2006.
“Successful implementation will require an empowered LAF, which will need robust assistance from the United States and other partners,” the State Department claimed in the notices, both of which used nearly identical language to explain the funding shifts.
Both Israel and Hezbollah agreed to pull their forces out of southern Lebanon before the end of January, with compliance to be overseen by the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers.
However, the U.N., like the Lebanese military, has faced prior criticism for having allowed terrorist to embed in its purportedly neutral operations.
“U.S. security assistance to the LAF increases its capacity as the country’s only legitimate military force and defender of Lebanon’s territorial integrity, enables the LAF to prevent potential destabilization from ISIS and other terrorist groups, and enables the LAF to provide security both for the Lebanese people and for U.S. personnel,” the State Department claimed.
The notices rejected concerns about the diversion of U.S. assistance allocated by Congress to Israel, as well as those about U.S. assistance to the Lebanese military.
“U.S. support to the LAF reinforces the LAF as an important institutional counterweight to Hezbollah, which receives weapons, training, and financial support from Iran,” the State Department claimed. “The LAF continues to be an independent, non-sectarian institution in Lebanon, and is respected across all sectors.”
In a third notice, also sent to Congress on Jan. 3, the department said it was going to provide $15 million to Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces to ensure that they become the primary law-enforcement entity in the country and assist the LAF in controlling areas in the south.
That money will primarily be used to rebuild police stations, improve radio communications and purchase vehicles, the notice said.
The third notice also informed lawmakers that the administration would provide $3.06 million to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority’s police to support its operations in the West Bank and $2.5 million to Jordan’s Public Security Directorate to support its response to public demonstrations.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
