The regional trip is important because it comes as Lebanon’s government has said it is trying to disarm various groups, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
US envoy Thomas Barrack and Deputy Special Envoy Morgan Ortagus arrived in Israel on Sunday, where they met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lebanese media later reported that Ortagus arrived in Lebanon on Monday.
At the top of the list of groups that need to be disarmed in Lebanon is Hezbollah. However, this is seen as a huge challenge, and Beirut has preferred low-hanging fruit. Beirut has tried to disarm Palestinian groups first, and Hezbollah has hinted at civil war if the government tries to take its arms.
Pressure may build on Lebanon now. In the wake of Barrack and Ortagus visiting Israel, Beirut may feel that the US is growing in its serious desire to see real action.
The Arab Weekly characterized Ortagus’ return to the scene in Lebanon as important, as she has the background that matters. “That knowledge is precisely why her return matters. Lebanese leaders thrive on ambiguity, on exhausting new envoys with a maze of committees, statements, and staged “dialogue.”
Ortagus is not new to this. She has already rattled the system once, and her reappearance signals she is ready to do so again, this time with Barrack as the public face and herself as the watchful enforcer.”
Al-Akhbar noted on August 25 that “Congressman Darin LaHood praised the government's measures to restrict the possession of weapons by the state and implement judicial and financial reforms. He said, ‘These steps contribute to restoring the international community's confidence in Lebanon.’”
He met with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. NNA media in Lebanon said that the two members of Congress met with the prime minister in the presence of the US Ambassador. The two US politicians also met with Lebanese Army commander Rodolph Haykal on August 23.
