[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 67 (Thursday, May 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S4453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                LEBANON

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, earlier this week, the Senate passed 
Concurrent Resolution 116, commending Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. 
The resolution notes the original reason Israel was forced to occupy a 
narrow security strip in southern Lebanon--constant attacks on Israeli 
civilians from Lebanon-based terror groups. Israel had no designs on 
Lebanese territory; the Jerusalem government was forced to do the job 
that the central Lebanese authorities were unable or unwilling to 
perform.
  Lebanon is in a sad situation. It is a nation torn by sectarian 
strife, occupied by tens of thousands of Syrian troops, and overrun 
with terrorists. In the final analysis, however, the government of 
Lebanon must be called to account. For more than two decades, the 
international community has bemoaned Lebanon's fate without demanding 
responsible leadership. That era is now over.
  There are Christians and Muslins in southern Lebanon whose fate hangs 
in the balance. They have been under the protection of Israel for more 
than two decades. What will happen to them? Will they be subject to the 
whims of yet another Lebanese militia, a Hezbollah state within a 
state? Will Christians be forced to flee, as they have from the West 
Bank and from so many other states? Or will the Lebanese central 
government and the Lebanese Army, as required under United Nations 
Security Council resolutions, take control of southern Lebanon and 
ensure safety and security for all?
  Will the Lebanese government allow the United Nations and UNIFIL to 
do its job and deployment throughout the South? Or will Lebanon remain 
a pawn in the hands of terrorists, a puppet state in the hands of Syria 
and Iran? This is the test. The President and the Congress have 
demanded that Lebanon secure its southern border and reintegrate 
southern Lebanese into the country. Hezbollah must be disarmed. The 
Syrian military must be evicted. The world is watching and the time is 
now.
  The citizens of northern Israel--indeed all Israelis--deserve to live 
within secure borders in peace. If they cannot, it is the solemn 
obligation of the Israeli government to secure those borders and to 
hunt down those who violate it and eliminate them. For my part as a 
United States Senator, I intend to do all that I can to support Israel 
in that aim, and to ensure that the means and the political, diplomatic 
and material support are at hand for the Israeli government to do just 
that.
  This month could be a turning point for Lebanon, for Syria and for 
Israel. Or it could be the beginning of a new cycle of conflict. I pray 
that the Lebanese and the Syrians will be smart enough to seize the 
opportunity for real peace in the Middle East.

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