The UN Lebanon mission is draining U.S. taxpayer dollars on left-wing projects like gender diversity training, “gender mainstreaming in military operations,” and even yoga classes, while failing to contain Hezbollah along Israel’s northern border. The Trump administration is now pressing U.N. Security Council members to reject a French resolution that would extend the mission’s mandate.
UNIFIL, the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, costs up to $500 million annually, with the U.S. paying nearly 30 percent. Despite this massive funding, Hezbollah has only grown stronger. “Has the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon fulfilled its mission?” a Western diplomat told the Washington Free Beacon. “A resounding body of evidence shows in fact, Hezbollah grew increasingly stronger and better armed, and UNIFIL was entirely ineffective at disarming Hezbollah. Put simply, the U.N. peace keeping mission failed, and renewing the mandate would be throwing good money after bad.”
UNIFIL’s recent programs highlight its shift away from security. The agency ran a July training session on “gender mainstreaming,” while its headquarters hosted a “Resilience through Yoga” program that promoted “yoga asanas, meditation & Ayurveda.” It employs gender advisers and maintains “gender-sensitive accommodations” at its bases. France has pledged even more DEI-style programming, including environmental seminars and a “Gender Advisor Course.”
Trump administration officials are reviewing the agency’s activities after clawing back $158 million last month. Critics warn the renewal push reflects “a last ditch effort by the French government and their supporters in the State Department ‘Deep State,’” aimed at undermining President Trump’s crackdown on foreign aid waste and Iranian terror networks.
