Washington, DC, December 16, 2022 (ATFL), The American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), a leadership organization of Americans of Lebanese descent, applauds US Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for calling for accountability of Lebanese elite undermining democracy and the rule of Law.
Today, the bipartisan leaders sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen “calling for US sanctions against Lebanon’s financial and political elite responsible for the country’s recent political deadlock and failure to implement critical economic reforms.”
The Senators called out Hezbollah and Lebanon’s political class for failing to respond to the needs of the Lebanese people. They also added that Lebanon needs an effective government free from malign foreign influence.
“Congress, on a bipartisan basis, is continuing to express its disappointment in the ‘business as usual’ approach from Lebanon’s political and economic elite,” said ATFL President Ed Gabriel. “Today they are sending a straightforward message to Lebanon’s leaders: make progress or face sanctions,” he added.
