Hezbollah must disarm

Lawmakers to Clinton: Urge Hezbollah disarmament

By Anath Hartmann · December 3, 2009

WASHINGTON (JTA) –Thirty-one members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday calling on the Obama administration to work toward disarming Hezbollah and clearing southern Lebanon of Iranian-sent weapons.

Led by Reps. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), the bipartisan group asked Clinton to ensure greater accountability from the United Nations in enforcing Resolution 1701. The measure calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, more U.N. troops in southern Lebanon and the deployment of Lebanese soldiers there.

Hezbollah has rearmed since its 2006 military campaign against Israel, when Israeli forced cleared southern Lebanon of Hezbollah’s Iranian weapon cache, according to various news reports.

“In light of the clear violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, we ask what actions the Administration is taking to ensure the U.N. addresses these violations,” the letter reads. “We must seek to support stronger multilateral efforts to disarm Hezbollah and clear Southern Lebanon of Iranian weapons.”

The letter notes that the Obama administration has requested more than $200 million for UNIFIL and $100 million in military assistance for the government of Lebanon, then argues: "For that much money, American taxpayers deserve to see results."

http://jta.org/news/article/ 2009/12/03/1009525/lawmakers- to-clinton-urge-hezbollah- disarmament