That not so "anonymous" official seem to be shooting himself in the foot! AFP, here"..The remarks contrasted with those last week from the State Department which said US officials had been informed about the move in advance and gave no sign of displeasure -- even if Washington was not ready to follow London's lead.
The official also objected to the glorification in the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut of Imad Mugnieh, a Hezbollah commander who was killed in a car bombing in February 2008 that the movement blamed on Israel.
"For years Hezbollah denied having any knowledge of Imad Mugnieh, for years Hezbollah pretended that Imad Mugnieh and that whole era of Hezbollah was not really Hezbollah, it was something else," the official said."And now all over south Beirut are all these posters extolling the virtues of Imad Mugnieh," said the official of the man who made America's most wanted list for his role in anti-US and anti-Israeli attacks in the 1980s and 1990s.
When a journalist suggested he did not sound happy with the British decision, he replied: "No."
Last week, Gordon Duguid, a State Department spokesman said "we are not ready to take the same step" that the British took, declining to either praise or criticize it.
However, the Obama administration, which has talked about engaging states hostile to the United States, seemed interested in the results of the British contacts with Hezbollah when Duguid said "we will watch how that proceeds."
And in sharp contrast to the senior government official, a State Department official told reporters on the condition of anonymity last week that Washington envisioned possible benefits from the British decision..."
No comments:
Post a Comment