The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [complaint, Word document] Monday against the Bush administration, alleging that the US government failed to fulfill its obligations to protect US citizens [ADC press release] in Lebanon when the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began earlier this month. The suit was filed on behalf of over 30 Lebanese-Americans who have either escaped Lebanon or are still trapped there. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction that would require US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to call for a ceasefire and an order that would send more military transports to remove Americans still in Lebanon [State Department evacuation status report; latest US Embassy Beirut departure instructions; US Fifth Fleet evacuation operations information].

In the lawsuit, the ADC also petitioned the court to mandate that the US stop sending weapons to Israel for as long as US citizens are attempting to leave Lebanon. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Rice are both named as defendants in the suit. Many of the named plaintiffs are from the Detroit, Michigan area, which holds the largest number of Lebanese citizens outside Lebanon.