Report urges citing Lebanon for harboring terrorist groups

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is being urged to place Lebanon on the State Department list of terrorist sponsors.

A report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said Lebanon fits the criteria of a terrorist sponsor. Author Yossi Baidatz cites Lebanon's harboring of such groups as Hamas, Hizbullah, and Islamic Jihad — all of which appear on the State Department list of terrorist groups.

The U.S. classification of Lebanon as a terrorist sponsor, the report said, could press the government in Beirut to stop Hizbullah attacks on Israel's northern border. The report said Lebanon's leadership is said to be split by a power struggle between those who want economic development and those who seek war against Israel.

"Adding Lebanon to the terror-states list will almost certainly deter Western governments and companies from investing in the country, slowing down and perhaps even preventing Lebanon's economic rehabilitation," Baidatz, a visiting military fellow, said. "The resulting economic strain would highlight to the Lebanese the cost of giving Hizbullah and other organizations virtual carte-blanche to maintain their activities against Israel and the West, and might compel the Lebanese populace to force the government to rein in these groups."

The dispute pits Prime Minister Rafik Hariri against the Iranian-backed Hizbullah movement. Hariri has been touring the West and the Arab world for investment and development aid while Hizbullah has undermined these efforts by raising tension along the border with Lebanon.

The report said Syria appears to side with Hizbullah in the debate. The dispute has been described in Lebanon as a choice between turning the country into Hong Kong or Hanoi.

"Hariri's political survival is dependent upon improving Lebanon's economic situation, which is in turn dependent upon regional stability and the maintenance of calm along the Israel-Lebanon border. In contrast, Hizbullah's future and its 'Jihadic identity' are inextricably linked to the continuation of operations in the Shebaa Farms and the preservation of regional instability."

The United States, the report said, should decide the dispute and classify Lebanon as a terrorist sponsor. The result would be sanctions on Lebanon and pressure by the Beirut government to stop Hizbullah and its Palestinian allies.

Lebanon must resolve its $25 billion foreign debt, much of it accumulated during Hariri's previous tenure as premier. His economic plan is based on a government reorganization, privatization of state-owned companies, and recruitment of Western investment.

But the West, particularly the United States, has linked investment to an end to Hizbullah attacks. This has led to Hizbullah criticism of the United States.