Counternarcotics and Law Enforcement Country Program: Lebanon

Challenges

In the wake of the July-August, 2006 Hizballah-Israel war, much of Lebanon lies in ruins, especially in the south. Lebanon had just recovered from decades of war and outside occupation and seemed headed for unprecedented economic growth and democratic development following the April 2005 withdrawal of Syrian military forces and the election of the first “made in Lebanon” government in nearly 30 years. Lebanon’s democracy remains fragile due to sectarian tensions and continuing Syrian interference using local proxies, Hizballah, and heavily armed Palestinian rejectionist groups. Despite the war, Hizballah retains its arms and its dangerous state-within-a-state status. Lebanon’s massive reconstruction program and the UN-supported deployment of Lebanese security forces into hitherto-Hizballah-controlled southern Lebanon provide the opportunity not only to restore Lebanon’s economy but to rebalance its political system and help restore Lebanon’s full sovereignty.

Supporting the democratic government of Lebanon, and the people of Lebanon, is an urgent priority of the United States. We are working to see the rapid and full implementation of UNSCR 1701; to see established the full sovereignty of a Lebanese Government representing all its people, and Lebanese security forces capable of protecting Lebanon’s borders, sovereignty and dignity. As a result of the movement of 15,000 Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to the south of Lebanon as part of the cease fire agreement with Israel, the LAF has had to abandon its policing functions in many parts of rural Lebanon. This situation has resulted in the ISF backfilling very quickly, and as a result, the ISF needs equipment and training to build their capacity. U.S. support for the ISF will help them meet this challenge.

U.S. Law Enforcement Goals

• Build Lebanon’s operational capacity to combat crime, prevent and respond to terror attacks, monitor Lebanon’s borders, and improve its ability to combat the infiltration of weapons and terrorists into Lebanon.
• Provide political support to the first “made in Lebanon” government, established in the wake of the Syrian withdrawal in 2005.
• Assist Lebanon in developing a competent, professional, democratic police force with the necessary training, equipment, infrastructure, and institutional capacity to enforce the rule of law in Lebanon, key to implementing UNSCRs 1559 and 1701.