MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-11-10 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Hezbullah displomacy under Trump
|
wsj.com
U.S. Sanctions Lebanese Politician in Effort to Undermine Hezbollah,
Rein in Corruption
Ian Talley in Washington, Benoit Faucon in London and Nazih Osseiran in
Beirut
5-7 minutes
The Trump administration’s sanctioning of a leading Lebanese Christian
politician was an effort to sideline the U.S.-designated Lebanese terror
group Hezbollah, while tackling the corruption widely seen as a root
cause of the country’s economic woes, officials and analysts said.
The action Friday targeted Gebran Bassil, son-in-law of Lebanon’s
president and head of the Christian-led Free Patriotic Movement, who is
seeking a leading role in the effort to form a new government amid the
country’s political crisis.
Friday’s action was designed to undermine Mr. Bassil and prevent a new
government from including Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Islamic movement
allied with Mr. Basil, officials and analysts said. It also was aimed at
spurring international anticorruption efforts, they said.
The administration accused Mr. Bassil of corruption while he led the
energy, foreign affairs and telecommunications ministries, including by
appointing friends to positions in 2017 and approving several projects
it said would have steered government funds to associates through front
companies.
“The systemic corruption in Lebanon’s political system exemplified by
Bassil has helped to erode the foundation of an effective government
that serves the Lebanese people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
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In response, Mr. Bassil said that he is a victim of injustice, the
allegations were baseless, and he would work to “prove that these
sanctions were wrong and biased.”
“This is but another mistake in a series of blunders that the U.S. has
made in its foreign policy, especially toward Lebanon, mistakes that
have emboldened extreme movements that do not only threaten the Middle
East but the West too,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion that killed
200 people and destroyed large sections of the city pitched the country
deeper into a long-building economic and political crisis, bringing down
the last coalition government.
Many in Lebanon and abroad have blamed mismanagement and corruption for
the explosion of a warehouse storing volatile fertilizer. The U.S.
didn’t blame Mr. Bassil personally for the blast, but officials cited
the explosion in levying the sanctions against him, saying he epitomized
the dynamics it believes led to the catastrophe.
Anticorruption protests last year toppled the government led by Prime
Minister Saad Hariri. A year into its financial crisis, Lebanon’s
officials have been unable to muster the consensus needed to enact
reforms that would pull the country out of an economic and political
tailspin. Lebanese politicians recently asked Mr. Hariri to return as
prime minister, and he is trying to form a new coalition government. Mr.
Bassil has been accused by Mr. Hariri’s allies of seeking inordinate
influence in the new government, slowing down the talks.
U.S. officials, seeking to capitalize on that growing political unrest,
have said they aim to use sanctions to help shape the new government
with two prime goals: compelling Lebanon’s political class to target
endemic corruption that has eaten away at the country, and ensuring that
Hezbollah doesn’t retain influence over government decisions.
“Lebanese political leaders should be aware that the time has long
passed for them to put aside their own narrow self-interests and instead
work for the people of Lebanon,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,
whose office also sanctioned Mr. Bassil on anticorruption powers.
Mr. Bassil, without elaborating, said he had resisted recent
administration pressure “to change my position on matters that
constitute a big danger to the Lebanese internal peace and stability.”
Mr. Bassil has been the subject of repeated allegations over the years
by former politicians, including top officials in his own government, of
using overpriced electricity projects and major dam projects to direct
money to shell companies he and his associates control. He has rejected
those accusations.
Matthew Levitt, a former top U.S. sanctions official now at the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the designation should
act as a deterrent to other corrupt politicians, especially those close
to Hezbollah.
“It’s political kryptonite,” Mr. Levitt said.
The sanctions prevent Mr. Bassil’s travel to the U.S., freeze any assets
he might have in U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit U.S.-based businesses
and banks doing business with him. Sanctions can also make targets
politically odious and complicate their international business and finance.
Mr. Bassil’s designation will also be read as a message that Beirut
won’t be able to secure critical emergency bailout money without dealing
with its corruption problem, officials and analysts say.
Write to Ian Talley at ian.talley-at-wsj.com and Benoit Faucon at
benoit.faucon-at-wsj.com
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