Ziad Abdelnour, a Lebanese American stridently devoted to the cause of driving Syria and Hezbollah from Lebanon, has been involved in a number of neocon-led initiatives on Middle East politics. An investment banker, Maronite Catholic, and a self-labeled neoconservative, Abdelnour is the founder of the now mostly defunct U.S. Committee for a Free Lebanon (USCFL), an advocacy group supported by Michael Ledeen, James Woolsey, Elliott Abrams, Douglas Feith, and Frank Gaffney, among others.
In the middle of the 2006 summer war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Abdelnour told New York Times reporter Landon Thomas Jr.: "'There is no other way but to absolutely annihilate Hezbollah,' Mr. Abdelnour said. 'I bleed when I see my country suffering like this, but you can't build a Hong Kong and harbor terrorists. The Lebanese cannot have their cake and eat it, too'" (New York Times, August 1, 2006). "'Let's get rid of this cancer,' Mr. Abdelnour said one day last week [in summer 2006], referring to Hezbollah's entrenched position in southern Lebanon. Over coffee, he referred to the recent carnage as a sort of medical operation. 'Let's finish the job,' he said, using his hands to simulate the opening up of his chest."
The Beirut-born Abdelnour made his fortune in the 1980s on Wall Street as a junk-bond salesman and today " runs a series of funds that make private-equity investments in security and technology companies" (New York Times, August 1, 2006). He is owner and president of Blackhawk Partners, Inc., a New York-based private commodities trading and investment firm.
Abdelnour produced, along with Daniel Pipes and the Middle East Forum (MEF), a 2000 report calling for the United States to force Syria from Lebanon and to disarm it of its alleged weapons of mass destruction. The document, "Ending Syria's Occupation of Lebanon: The U.S. Role?" argued that "Syrian rule in Lebanon stands in direct opposition to American ideals" and criticized the United States for engaging rather than confronting the regime. Among the document's signers were several soon-to-be Bush administration figures, including Elliott Abrams, Douglas Feith, Michael Rubin, David Wurmser, and Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky. Other signers included Richard Perle, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ledeen, and Gaffney.
Abdelnour, in pursuing his goal of a Syria-free Lebanon, even suggested that getting Syrian troops out of Lebanon would help the U.S. cause in Iraq. Writing for the Jerusalem Post, Abdelnour argued: "The departure of Syrian forces in Lebanon would also bolster the democratization of Iraq. ... The restoration of Lebanese democracy would provide a model for a democratic Iraq and reinforce its political transformation" (April 27, 2003).
Another joint USCFL-MEF project was the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, an online publication that put out its last issue in July 2004. In that issue, Abdelnour wrote about Lebanon's then-upcoming elections: "It appears that United States and France intend to push even more aggressively for a constitutional presidential succession in the months ahead (Syrian and American officials will reportedly meet in Rome in late July to discuss the issue). This presents [Syrian President Bashar] Assad with a vexing Catch-22: if he caves in to the pressure, he will effectively relinquish some of Syria's authority over Lebanon and allow the West to make further inroads into the country's political process; if he doesn't, Syria will further isolate itself internationally and alienate most of Lebanon's governing elite." It is widely accepted that pressure from Syria led to Lebanon's extension of the presidency of Emile Lahoud, who is seen by many as pro-Syrian. This sparked the resignation of Syrian Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who left office in October 2004 in protest. Four months later, Hariri was assassinated, triggering the Cedar Revolution that forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April 2005.
The USCFL lists "Pro-Free Lebanon Media" and "Pro-Arab Media"; under the first heading are conservative strongholds Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal, along with outlets owned by the neocon-influenced Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, such as the New York Post and the Weekly Standard, as well as right-wing online sites like Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Front Page Magazine, and World Net Daily. (Under the pro-Arab listing are venues such as BBC News, New York Times, and the Guardian.)
According to his biography on USCFL, Abdelnour's father is former Lebanese Parliament Member Khalil Abdelnour, who served from 1992-2000.
In March 2007, Abdelnour donated $2,500 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, to which he had given $600 the previous year. Abdelnour has written checks to both Republican and Democratic candidates, including former Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-MI), former Sen. George Mitchell (D-ME), and Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D-NY). Abdelnour also donated $2,000 to the American Task Force for Lebanon PAC in 1992, the same year he gave $1,000 to Rep. Nick Rahall's (D-WV) Friends of Lebanon Dinner Committee, of which Rahall's lobbyist sister Tanya was treasurer. (For all campaign donation information, see OpenSecrets.org, PoliticalMoneyLine.com, and NewsMeat.com.)
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Affiliations
U.S. Committee for a Free Lebanon: Founder
Middle East Forum: Board of Governors
Peaceworks: Member, Board of Advisers
Middle East Intelligence Bulletin: Publisher
Private Sector
Blackhawk Partners Inc.: Owner, President, CEO
Mindsfield: Equity and Venture Capital Consultant
TerraNova Inc.: Managing Director
TechCapital Access LLC: Founder, Managing Partner
Tower Hill Securities/THCG, Inc.: Former Managing Director
Interbank Capital Group: Former Senior Partner
Ladenburg Thalmann: Former Banker
Education
American University, Beirut: B.S., Economics, 1982
University of Pennsylvania: MBA, 1984
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