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Ileana ros-lehtinen cites a 'moral
duty' to fight dictatorship
Former refugee has been a vocal
supporter of Lebanese opposition
groups, though she has been less
harsh on Israel's occupation
By Will Rasmussen
Daily Star staff
Monday, December 13, 2004
 BEIRUT:
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a
Hispanic congresswoman from Florida
who claims a "moral duty" to fight
"dictatorial regimes," is ruffling
the feathers of some of Lebanon's
most powerful men.
Multi-millionaires across the
country are in fear of having their
assets frozen as part of
Washington's effort to pressure
Damascus to withdraw its troops from
Lebanon.
Rafik Hariri, billionaire
businessman and former prime
minister, even summoned U.S.
Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman to his
Beirut mansion to express his
"concern and opposition" to the
idea.
But who is the woman behind the move
that has sent a chill down the
collective spines of Lebanon's
wealthiest?
As the first Hispanic woman to chair
a subcommittee in the U.S. Congress,
Lehtinen has led the Committee on
Central Asia and the Mideast to an
aggressive regional policy -
strongly backing Israel and raising
pressure on the leaders of Syria and
Libya.
"I feel a moral obligation and
personal responsibility to support
and give voice to those who are
silenced, persecuted and tortured by
regimes such as the one in
Damascus," said the former Cuban
refugee.
Now, Ros-Lehtinen has turned her
attention to Lebanon, where she has
been the most vocal supporter of the
Lebanese opposition groups and a
relentless critic of Syria, which
she says is supporting terror and
occupying Lebanon.
At an anti-Syrian student
demonstration earlier this month,
organizers said authorities couldn't
break up the protest in part due to
a statement from Ros-Lehtinen
warning Beirut that the U.S. was
watching how it handled the protest.
A cursory glance at Ros-Lehtinen's
record, however, shows her demands
for Lebanese sovereignty do not
extend to halting the Israeli
occupation of the Shebaa Farms area
- a point not lost on her critics.
For Ros-Lehtinen, who fled Cuba with
her family at age 7, rallying fellow
lawmakers against what she views as
Syrian oppression is a personal
matter.
"I find it unconscionable that
Lebanese officials would assist the
Syrian regime in keeping the
Lebanese hostage to a foreign
power," she said. "I have
experienced first-hand the power of
freedom and the opportunities that
exist in a democratic and open
society. It is my hope, inshallah,
that sovereignty will soon be
restored to Lebanon and that both
the Lebanese and Syrian people will
be able to exercise their basic
rights, free from oppression and
intimidation."
Ros-Lehtinen said she is working on
new legislation to aid "dissidents
and freedom-seekers" in Lebanon and
Syria, though she declined to say
how the aid would be administered.
Lebanon, she said, is ready for the
Syrian Army and intelligence
apparatus - "the core of many of
Lebanon's problems" - to leave. She
did not say, however, if she thinks
the Lebanese Army is capable of
reigning in Hizbullah, which has the
potential to launch rockets into
Israeli territory.
"Without Syria to foment instability
and breed terrorism inside Lebanon,
I am confident a free democratic
Lebanese republic would be capable
of addressing any difficulties that
may arise," she said.
As head of Congress's subcommittee
handling the Mideast, Ros-Lehtinen
backed the ouster of Saddam Hussein
and asked President George W. Bush
to keep U.S. sanctions against Libya
even after the UN Security Council
dropped them in 2003. She joined a
delegation to Iraq in 2003 to assess
the needs of Iraqi women and tried
to get money to rebuild Iraqi
marshlands devastated by Saddam.
She has also been a strong supporter
of Israel, listing fund-raising for
the Jewish Federation and frequent
visits to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and
the Golan Heights as evidence of
"steadfast solidarity with this
beleaguered nation."
Ros-Lehtinen's 18th congressional
district, incorporating Miami and
Miami Beach, has a sizable Jewish
and black population, though her
main support base is Hispanic and
Cuban-American voters, many of whom
- having escaped the Castro regime -
support hawkish policies against
rulers they view as oppressive.
Hariri is not the only powerful
politician Ros-Lehtinen has upset.
She also angered Castro himself
after the Cuban leader learned that
Ros-Lehtinen told California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger not
to promote U.S.-Cuba trade. Castro
said he hoped Schwarzenegger is as
smart as he is strong.
Ros-Lehtinen has been a continued
thorn in Castro's side during her
15-year tenure in the House. In 2003
she issued legislation condemning
Castro for sentencing 75 Cuban
dissidents to long prison terms.
When some in Congress moved to ease
U.S. sanctions against Cuba at the
same time as the crackdown on
dissidents, Ros-Lehtinen told her
colleagues it would be
unconscionable "to reward the
dictatorship for its deplorable
action."
Ros-Lehtinen's connections to a
hard-nosed U.S. foreign policy go
deeper than just advocacy. Her
step-son, Douglas Lehtinen, flies
fighter jets in the U.S. Marines.
Her husband, a former district
attorney in Florida, had part of his
cheekbone blown off while serving as
a platoon leader in the Vietnam War.
Many in the Mideast do not welcome
Lehtinen's interest.
Hizbullah spokesman Mohammed Afif
insists Ros-Lehtinen's desire for a
free Lebanon is inconsistent, as she
has failed to call for an end to
Israel's occupation of the Shebaa
Farms. Hizbullah maintains that the
25 square-kilometer area on the
Western slopes of Mount Hermon is
Lebanese territory.
Afif said the Syrian presence is
needed in Lebanon until the Israeli
occupation is over, both to resist
Israel in the South and maintain
Lebanon's stability.
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