Hezbollah Gearing Up for War on Israel... With U.S. Military Aid?

A Hezbollah fighter holds an Iranian-made anti-aircraft missile, right, as he takes his position with his comrade, left, between orange trees, at the coastal border town of Naqoura, south Lebanon, Thursday, April 20, 2017. Hezbollah organized a media tour along the border with Israel meant to provide an insight into defensive measures established by the Israeli forces along the southern frontier in the past year in preparation for any future conflict. The border tour is the first since an inconclusive month long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, and comes amid heightened tensions along the border between the old adversaries, with each side promising to inflict massive casualties on the other in any upcoming war. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A Hezbollah fighter holds an Iranian-made anti-aircraft missile, right, as he takes his position with his comrade, left, between orange trees, at the coastal border town of Naqoura, south Lebanon, Thursday, April 20, 2017. Hezbollah organized a media tour along the border with Israel meant to provide an insight into defensive measures established by the Israeli forces along the southern frontier in the past year in preparation for any future conflict. The border tour is the first since an inconclusive month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, and comes amid heightened tensions along the border between the old adversaries, with each side promising to inflict massive casualties on the other in any upcoming war. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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That’s what it looks like, at least.

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terror group appears to be stockpiling weapons along Israel’s border, and U.S. military aid may be involved. The concern among U.S. officials is that the aid, which had gone to the Lebanese, is now under Hezbollah control.

The Free Beacon‘s Adam Kredo has more on this story:

Following the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who fled the country and disclosed that Hezbollah controls the entirety of Lebanon, the U.S. government has continued its support for the Lebanese military, which multiple sources say has long been under the thumb of Hezbollah militants.

The ongoing policy is said to be fueling diplomatic tensions between the United States and Israel, which has found itself allied with Saudi Arabia as the American government advances a host of policies that have contributed to Iran’s regional dominance, including in Iraq and Syria.

The Trump administration’s State Department is coming under increased pressure from lawmakers and other foreign policy insiders to halt all military aid to Lebanon in light of Hariri’s resignation and new evidence that Hezbollah is benefiting from the American arms and aid.

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The State Department appears to be completely off-base when it comes to its assumptions about Lebanon, according to the sources who spoke to Kredo.

“It is clear that the State Department and [Defense Department] operate on the false construct that Lebanese Hezbollah and the Lebanese State are two distinct entities when in reality the information available to decision makers points to the dominance of Hezbollah within the state,” one former senior U.S. defense official familiar with the matter disclosed to the Free Beacon.

“Our Gulf allies and the Israelis are intimately familiar with the internal dynamics of Lebanon and clearly understand that Hezbollah is the defacto Lebanese state today, but we refuse to acknowledge this unfortunate reality even when confronted with obvious evidence,” said the source, who would only discuss the sensitive information on background.

As mentioned earlier, that is causing major issues with Israel, who is our best and closest ally in the region. They have a perpetual target on their backs from pretty much everyone who surrounds them, and it makes life incredibly difficult.

So, if the Trump Administration isn’t paying enough attention, that exacerbates an already tense and dangerous situation in the Middle East. It’s clear that the Trump Administration should re-evaluate what’s going on, but with a still largely understaffed State Department and no clear foreign policy for the Middle East, we just don’t know what will happen.

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