by John Hajjar (April 24, 2019)

The Department of State Rewards for Justice branch issued a press release offering a $10 million reward to break up Hezbollah’s finances. The release stated:  “Hizballah earns almost one billion dollars annually through direct financial support from Iran, international businesses and investments, donor networks, corruption, and money laundering activities. The group uses those funds to support its malign activities throughout the world, including: Deployment of its militia members to Syria in support of the Assad dictatorship; alleged operations to conduct surveillance and gather intelligence in the American homeland; and enhanced military capabilities to the point that Hizballah claims to possess precision-guided missiles.” 

I applaud the State Department’s move to address Hezbollah’s threat to US national security and the pro-Iran militia’s suppression of the Lebanese people. Clearly, Secretary Pompeo and the Trump Administration are heading in the right direction in strenghtening US policy towards Lebanon. We as Lebanese and Middle East Americans lend them our support and call on Congress to provide strong bipartisan support to the Administration in its efforts to remove Hezbollah’s grip over Lebanon.

Having been a part of the community effort in 2004-2008 to issue UN Resolution 1559 that called on disarming Hezbollah, as well as subsequent engagements in the US and worldwide to liberate Lebanon from this terror organization, I call on the Trump Administration to remain firm in its new steps to put financial sanctions on Hezbollah and its allies and on all who collaborate with this terror organization.

Hezbollah is responsible for the murder of US Marines, US servicemen in Lebanon and in Iraq, and was behind a series of assassinations of Lebanese leaders, officers, students, as well as terror attacks in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

As Lebanese-Americans we stand firm with the Administration in its new Lebanon policy.