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Democrats are divided over a resolution seeking to bar the US from aiding Israel’s war against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group, on Thursday.
The estimate, given by Rep. Progressive Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., will need President Donald Trump to withdraw US troops from Lebanon. For months, Israel and Hezbollah, a US-designated terrorist group and Iran’s proxy, have been at war in southern Lebanon, but the United States has not intervened in the conflict.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., rejected the measure. Critics say the decision could help Hezbollah and limit US military operations in the country.
Tlaib’s resolution failed 92-324, and more than half of House Democrats joined nearly all Republicans in voting for it.
The Lebanon war resolution has divided Democrats, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., joining Republicans in opposing the measure. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg)
REP RASHIDA TLAIB GOES TO BLOCK JOBS IN LEBANON BUT IGNORES HEZBOLLAH
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a critic of Israel, is the only Republican to support Tlaib’s measure. Meanwhile, Reps. Derek Tran, D-Calif., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn., voted to present.
House Democratic leaders said shortly before the vote that they would veto Tlaib’s decision and work with a progressive lawmaker on a narrow measure freeing US military operations in the country. Their statement also condemned Hezbollah as a “violent terrorist organization” and a “sworn enemy of the United States.”
Tlaib, who accused Israel of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in Lebanon, did not mention Hezbollah in his ruling. He and other supporters of the measure avoided discussing the Iranian military during the heated debate over the measure.
Republicans highlighted the exclusion and accused lawmakers of acting as “proxies for Hezbollah.”
“It’s clear they don’t want to see Israel kill Hezbollah, even though it’s Hezbollah killing Israeli children, Israeli elders, Israeli elders,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., referring to his Democratic counterpart.s.
Tlaib asserted that his decision would only affect US forces participating in the hostilities. Republicans, however, disputed that claim and suggested it would harm America’s efforts to fight Hezbollah.
“It doesn’t mean anything about it [whether] you can keep the Marines in the embassy,” Mast said, referring to the US embassy in Beirut. “That’s a huge oversight. It doesn’t say anything about whether we can keep the United States military training the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces]. Again, a very big consideration. “
Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, tried to prevent the US military from joining Israel’s war in Lebanon. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg)
RASHIDA TLAIB ATTACKS HOUSE WRAP-UP, ACCUSED OF ‘CELEBRATING TERRORISM’ THROUGH PRO-PALESTIN SPEECH
The debate turned personal when Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, linked Tlaib to Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization … and its members are butchers to some extent,” the Ohio lawmaker said, referring to Tlaib.
A fight then broke out between the two, with Tlaib demanding that Miller’s words be removed from the record.
The presiding chairman eventually acceded to his request, but Miller doubled down on his words.
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“Yes, I said it. I have it, and I’m standing by it,” Mast said on behalf of Miller on the floor.
Tlaib’s failed decision to go to war comes as Iran seeks to combine Israel’s attack on Lebanon with its ceasefire talks with the United States.
Hezbollah, which has long helped Iran project power in the region, rejected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government on Thursday.
