14. IN 8/16: P 75/6 U.S. POLICY TOWARD LEBANON HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JUNE 25, 1997 Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-056342-9 WILLIAM GOODLING, Pennsylvania STEVEN J. CHABOT, Ohio MARSHALL "MARK" SANFORD, South Carolina MATT SALMON, Arizona AMO HOUGHTON, New York TOM CAMPBELL, California JON FOX, Pennsylvania JOHN MCHUGH, New York LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina LEE HAMILTON, Indiana MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California KEVIN BRADY, Texas RICHARD J. GARON, Chief of Staff MICHAEL H. VAN DUSEN, Democratic Chief of Staff CONTENTS Mr. David Welch, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs, Mr. Terry Anderson, Chairman, Westchester Information Network Mr. Daniel Pipes, Editor, Middle East Quarterly Mr. Peter Tanous, Founding Chairman, American Task Force for Lebanon Mr. Daniel Nassif, Washington Representative, Council of Lebanese-American Mr. David Welch and Mr. Kenneth McKune The Honorable Ray LaHood, a Representative in Congress from Illinois The Honorable Nick Rahall, a Representative in Congress from West Mr. Terry Anderson ................. Additional material submitted for the record: Letter dated June 25, 1997, to Chairman Benjamin Gilman from Senator 73 80 U.S. POLICY TOWARD LEBANON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 1997 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:25 a.m. in room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Benjamin A. Gilman (chairman of the Committee) presiding. Chairman GILMAN. The hearing will come to order. The purpose of today's hearing is to take stock of U.S. relations with an important but frequently overlooked partner in the Middle East: Lebanon. On October 24th, 1983, the day after 241 U.S. Armed Forces personnel were killed in Beirut, President Reagan stated we have vital interests in Lebanon. Today's hearing will explore whether that is so and if U.S. policy reflects those vital national interests. Lebanon and the United States of America have enjoyed a long history of friendship and cooperation, which has witnessed the immigration of millions of Lebanese to the United States where they and their descendants have contributed greatly to the fabric of our way of life. Today, Lebanon is slowly emerging from the chaos of a long civil war which ended in 1990. It is evidently a much different place today than that war-torn country we saw on the evening news in the 1970's and 1980's. During its civil war, Lebanon endured foreign incursions and occupation. Although that war has ended, non-Lebanese forces still control much of the country, including over 30,000 Syrian troops, an Israeli army contingent and an Israeli-supported militia in southern Lebanon, and civil armed Palestinian factions. In addition, the terrorist group Hizbollah has virtually a free hand in parts of that country. In various degrees, these forces undermine the authority of the central government and prevent the application of Lebanese law in areas not under its control. Above all, our Committee is concerned about the basic issue that characterizes Lebanon today and that is the effect of Syria's continuing military occupation. While Israel and Syria both have troops in Lebanon, Israel exercises no control over the Lebanese Government and is on the record as intending to withdraw from Lebanese soil in return for security guarantees. On the other hand, Syria has never recognized Lebanon's independence. It effectively dictates the major policies and actions of the Lebanese Government and maintains a large military presence in that nation. Syrian dominance is so pervasive that Lebanon has |