An American legislator is asking France to reconsider its sale of anti-tank missiles to Lebanon.
Democratic U.S. Representative Steve Rothman appealed in a letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday not to sell arms to Israel's northern neighbor.
“The stakes are too high, and the danger this would pose to Israel is far too real,” Rothman wrote. “I therefore respectfully respect that you reconsider this arms deal of anti-tank missiles and seek to aid the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces] in other ways.”
According to the letter, delivery of the weapons is expected to take place within the next two months.
France confirmed a week ago that it had sold 100 HOT anti-tank missiles to Beirut, set for delivery by the end of February. The missiles are to be used by the military's Gazelle helicopters, according to a French official quoted by the AFP news service.
“The missiles… are being given with no conditions attached,” the source said.
Last August, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, noted that the same would be “very irresponsible and could jeopardize security and stability in the region.”
“Lebanon is in a precarious situation,” Rothman pointed out, “whereby Hezbollah is in a powerful position to usurp the LAF. If this were to occur, Israel would be in grave danger of having your anti-tank missiles used against her."
“I agree in principle that strengthening the LAF against Hezbollah is an important goal, but I believe that providing the LAF with anti-tank missiles is neither helpful nor necessary in that regard,” he said.
The Lebanese Armed Forces were expected to join with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to enforce a demilitarized zone between Israel's northern border and the Litani River in 2006 following the Second Lebanon War.
The move, intended to ensure the entrenched Hizbullah terrorist organization disarmed, never took place.
Instead, the LAF and Hizbullah essentially merged into one seamless unit, with the Lebanese government subsequently asserting its support for the terrorist group's right to bear arms, and Hizbullah asserting its right to “defend” the country from Israel.