The special envoy from the Élysée for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, at the Parliament during the presidential election on Jan. 9, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'OLJ)
The United States wants to help the Lebanese state rebuild southern Lebanon, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Congress will mobilize funds to achieve that goal, said Morgan Ortagus, deputy U.S. presidential special envoy to the Middle East, in an interview with Al-Jadeed on Tuesday. These remarks did not go unnoticed. Several observers believe that the diplomat implied that the Trump administration might not put its hand in its wallet to finance reconstruction, which would cost $11 billion, according to World Bank figures. Ortagus even puts the ball back in the court of Washington’s “friends and partners,” and even the Lebanese diaspora.In this context, France could have a role to play. Less than 24 hours after Ortagus’s interview, press reports verified by L’Orient-Le Jour indicated that Paris had already delegated the...
The United States wants to help the Lebanese state rebuild southern Lebanon, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Congress will mobilize funds to achieve that goal, said Morgan Ortagus, deputy U.S. presidential special envoy to the Middle East, in an interview with Al-Jadeed on Tuesday. These remarks did not go unnoticed. Several observers believe that the diplomat implied that the Trump administration might not put its hand in its wallet to finance reconstruction, which would cost $11 billion, according to World Bank figures. Ortagus even puts the ball back in the court of Washington’s “friends and partners,” and even the Lebanese diaspora.In this context, France could have a role to play. Less than 24 hours after Ortagus’s interview, press reports verified by L’Orient-Le Jour indicated that Paris had already delegated...
Israel continues attacks on southern Lebanon, demolishes buildings in Bint Jbeil