This is the second of three posts on potential Congressional action to tighten the screws on Iran and Iran’s network of friends, supporters, and proxies.
Oversight is often unsexy. It’s behind the scenes, it’s not splashy like legislation, not public like a tweet or a speech or a TV hit. But consistent oversight is one of Congress’ most powerful tools in shaping Executive Branch policy. It can force the ship of state in a better direction, and it can change policy. Here are some steps critical to letting the Islamic Republic of Iran know that the United States is onto its game, will not allow its proxies and enablers to propitiate Tehran and advance its agenda, and still remain in Washington’s good graces.
Lebanon: Lebanon’s government is controlled by Hezbollah, which has blocked the election of a prime minister for almost a year.
The US has provided more than $3 billion to the Lebanese Armed Forces since 2006, and more than $3 billion in foreign aid since 2012. The FY24 request is for $112.5 million in Emergency Support Functions (ESF), $150 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF), $3.5 in International Military Education and Training (IMET), $7.2 million in narcotics control, and $9.26 million in nonproliferation, a total of $282.46 million. In January 2023, the United States government (USG) reprogrammed $72 million “to help the country’s cash-strapped government boost wages of its soldiers and police officers,” per the US ambassador.
The USG argues that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are instrumental in fighting Sunni terrorists (ISIS and al Qaeda) and cannot be blamed for not taking on Hezbollah in the south and center. (Note that in each case that it did indeed take on al Qaeda or ISIS, it did so by Hezbollah’s side.)
Hezbollah has in the last 16 years rearmed to the tune of 150,000 missiles, precision guided munitions, and drones on the Israeli border, inside Lebanon, under the noses of both the LAF and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The press reports Hezbollah and Iran are building an airport in southern Lebanon for the exclusive purpose of delivering weaponry. Why is there no accountability?
West Bank/Gaza: The US has provided billions to the Palestinian Authority and to Palestinians overall directly (vs multilaterally through United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), about which more below). The administration’s request for this account for FY2024 is $258 million. In the supplemental, there is $9.15 billion, some major portion of which is for the Palestinians. (They won’t break it out for maximum “flexibility.”)
How, notwithstanding these substantial cash transfers, is Gaza run by a designated terrorist organization? How, despite these massive transfers, has there not been an election in the West Bank since 2005? What is this money being spent on? Where is the accountability? Where are the results? What programs has AID changed in response to the failures on the ground? How is the US working to ensure a democratic succession in the West Bank?
Qatar: Qatar, the richest nation per capita in the world, plays host to al Qaeda, the Taliban and Hamas. The Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, lives there in luxury, and is reportedly worth about $4 billion. How much of that came from the US taxpayer? Qatar is also the sole funder of al Jazeera, which reportedly worked with al Qaeda in Iraq, resulting in denunciation from the US government, and is now reportedly helping Hamas to track Israeli troop movements in Gaza.
Why is there a US airbase in Qatar? Why is Qatar, one of the most significant terrorist havens in the world, not a designated state sponsor of terrorism? Why has Qatar’s financing of Hamas not raised these questions?
Ultimately, Congress may be satisfied by the answers to these questions. At the very least, they must be asked.