"The ascendancy of Hezbollah is a setback to the US..."

Tuesday 14 June 2011

"The ascendancy of Hezbollah is a setback to the US..."

FLC

صورة مركّبة تجمع وزراء الحكومة الجديدة باستثناء نقولا نحاس وحسان دياب

Numbers? 7 Sunni ministers and 5 Shia' ministers!
According to AP Lebanon is, alas, not in the Western 'sphere of influence'. I mean, with ambassadors, Connelly, Pieton ... daily drop in visitis to every single Lebanese politician, clergyman ... Lebanon can hardly be said to be wholly in 'somebody-elses's sphere of influence'! But hey, it's AP!

(AP) - "... The make-up of the new government is seen as almost entirely pro-Syrian. Syrian President Bashar Assad, facing a growing uprising against his rule at home, called twice to congratulate Lebanese leaders on the new government's formation.
The ascendancy of Hezbollah is a setback to the United States, which has provided Lebanon with $720 million in military aid since 2006 and has tried in vain to move the country firmly into a Western sphere and end the influence of Iran and Syria. It also underscores Iran's growing influence in the region at a time when Washington's is falling..."

US will judge 'Hezbollah's government' by its actions

World reacts to new Lebanon government

The US should immediately cut off assistance to Lebanon..."

"... "The US should immediately cut off assistance to the Lebanese government as long as any violent extremist group designated by the US as foreign terrorist organizations participates in it," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican and frequent White House critic.
Ros-Lehtinen warned in a statement that "Hezbollah and its cohorts will control the Lebanese government and likely benefit from the years of US assistance, including to the Lebanese military... The US should likewise stop funding the Palestinian Authority, where Hamas appears to be following in Hezbollah's footsteps," said Ros-Lehtinen. "It is time for US assistance to truly advance our interests, rather than benefit the likes of Hezbollah, Hamas, and their partners..."