Hezbollah Slams Biden's Visit as Meddling in Lebanese Affairs
22/05/2009 As expected, the US Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Beirut couldn't pass unnoticed, especially that it comes amid reports that the US has increasing concerns about a possible victory for the national opposition in the forthcoming parliamentary elections…
In a statement it released on Friday, Hezbollah commented on the visit and the sequence of US officials' visits to the country ahead of the parliamentary elections.
"The US high interest in Lebanon triggers strong doubts over the reasons behind it," the statement read, adding that this suspicious US concern "constitutes explicit meddling in the Lebanese affairs, which is obviously reflected in the series of visits paid lately by US administration officials to the country."
Hezbollah warned against the US administration's intentions. "We must not forget that the US administration is putting the Zionist enemy's interests at the top of its priorities, and therefore is exerting pressure on everyone and inducing concessions to achieve its goals," the Hezbollah statement noted. "This same administration seems to have completely no concern in the nations' just causes and their rightful requests."
Hezbollah condemned the US insistence on having identical interests with the Zionist entity and called on the Lebanese officials, at the top of whom is the head of the State President Michel Sleiman, to raise with their guests the Israeli daily violations of the Lebanese sovereignty, the continuous occupation of some Lebanese lands and the Israeli spying networks spread all over Lebanon.
The Resistance party concluded its statement by wondering whether Biden or any other US official were really interested in returning the Lebanese occupied lands to the Lebanese authorities.
MP FADLALLAH: BIDEN VISIT MEDDLING IN LEBANESE AFFAIRS
Earlier, member of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Hasan Fadlallah slammed Biden's visit to Beirut as a clear bid by Washington to meddle in the country's internal affairs just two weeks before crucial elections.
"It appears that this visit is part of a US bid to supervise the electoral campaign of a Lebanese party which feels threatened politically in light of the expected outcome of the legislative vote," MP Fadlallah said, in reference to the March 14 bloc.
Speaking during an interview with Agence France Press (AFP), Fadlallah called on all Lebanese, regardless of their political views, to rise up against such meddling "which represents a flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty."
The Hezbollah MP said Biden's trip will "negatively affect those betting once again on US support which, under the arrogant (former President George W.) Bush administration, was unable to break the will of the Lebanese".
Fadlallah concluded by noting that Biden's visit is part of US efforts to impose its views on the government that will be set up after the elections. "They are tracing red lines for the future government," he said. "We will rise up to this."
22/05/2009 As expected, the US Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Beirut couldn't pass unnoticed, especially that it comes amid reports that the US has increasing concerns about a possible victory for the national opposition in the forthcoming parliamentary elections…
In a statement it released on Friday, Hezbollah commented on the visit and the sequence of US officials' visits to the country ahead of the parliamentary elections.
"The US high interest in Lebanon triggers strong doubts over the reasons behind it," the statement read, adding that this suspicious US concern "constitutes explicit meddling in the Lebanese affairs, which is obviously reflected in the series of visits paid lately by US administration officials to the country."
Hezbollah warned against the US administration's intentions. "We must not forget that the US administration is putting the Zionist enemy's interests at the top of its priorities, and therefore is exerting pressure on everyone and inducing concessions to achieve its goals," the Hezbollah statement noted. "This same administration seems to have completely no concern in the nations' just causes and their rightful requests."
Hezbollah condemned the US insistence on having identical interests with the Zionist entity and called on the Lebanese officials, at the top of whom is the head of the State President Michel Sleiman, to raise with their guests the Israeli daily violations of the Lebanese sovereignty, the continuous occupation of some Lebanese lands and the Israeli spying networks spread all over Lebanon.
The Resistance party concluded its statement by wondering whether Biden or any other US official were really interested in returning the Lebanese occupied lands to the Lebanese authorities.
MP FADLALLAH: BIDEN VISIT MEDDLING IN LEBANESE AFFAIRS
Earlier, member of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Hasan Fadlallah slammed Biden's visit to Beirut as a clear bid by Washington to meddle in the country's internal affairs just two weeks before crucial elections.
"It appears that this visit is part of a US bid to supervise the electoral campaign of a Lebanese party which feels threatened politically in light of the expected outcome of the legislative vote," MP Fadlallah said, in reference to the March 14 bloc.
Speaking during an interview with Agence France Press (AFP), Fadlallah called on all Lebanese, regardless of their political views, to rise up against such meddling "which represents a flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty."
The Hezbollah MP said Biden's trip will "negatively affect those betting once again on US support which, under the arrogant (former President George W.) Bush administration, was unable to break the will of the Lebanese".
Fadlallah concluded by noting that Biden's visit is part of US efforts to impose its views on the government that will be set up after the elections. "They are tracing red lines for the future government," he said. "We will rise up to this."
Biden in Beirut: US Aids to Lebanon Depend on Vote's Outcome
Hussein Assi Readers Number : 210
22/05/2009 The United States seems to be very interested in the Lebanese affairs ahead of the so-called "fateful" parliamentary elections in the country…
Indeed, less than one month after the visit paid by US Hillary Clinton to the Lebanese capital, and at the time the US ambassador to Beirut Michele Sisson is sparing no effort to support the US allies in Lebanon, the March 14 bloc, in forming its electoral tickets, came the turn of US Vice President Joe Biden to "land" in Lebanon where he's expected to renew the "US support for the Lebanese independence."
Biden's visit, which is the fourth of a US high-rank official since the election of President Barack Obama and the first of a sitting US Vice President, is aiming to "reinforce the United States' support for an independent and sovereign Lebanon," according to the White House.
Supporting an independent and sovereign Lebanon… This is the goal of the visit according to Biden himself who told reporters following a meeting he held with President Michel Sleiman that his visit does not aim to support any party in the elections but to assist Lebanon.
However, Biden, who called for "fair, free and transparent elections," said clearly that the future US aids for Lebanon depend on the new government's policies. "Washington will evaluate its assistance to Lebanon based on the policies of the new government to be formed after the June 7 parliamentary election," he emphasized.
Biden said that his administration looks forward to the shape and composition of the Lebanese government which is for the Lebanese to decide. He expressed belief that the country was moving in the right direction but called for a "sovereign and democratic Lebanon to be stronger than it is today."
The US Vice President stressed that the Lebanese sovereignty cannot and will not be traded away. "Nobody can trade the sovereignty of Lebanon and we are keen to keep it safe and stable," he said, adding that Washington is committed to the so-called peace process in the region, including Lebanon.
For his part, President Sleiman told reporters that he had informed his guest Lebanon's absolute rejection to settle the Palestinians on its territory. He said that he also raised with Biden the issue of the Israeli violations to the Lebanese sovereignty and the spying networks as well as the upcoming Israeli maneuvers.
Biden then held meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Saniora. He then met with March 14 leaders at the residence of MP Nayla Moawwad.
According to press reports, Berri called during his meeting with Biden for peace in the region and said the Palestinian cause should be solved in order to solve all other crises in the region. He also told his guest that Israeli spy rings are in violation of Resolution 1701.
Biden exhibited, at the end of his "swift" visit to Beirut, samples of US aid to the Lebanese army at Beirut airport. "We seek to provide training programs for Lebanese special forces and shall provide unmanned aircrafts to the Lebanese army," he said, adding that his administration supports the Lebanese Army to protect the security of the country.
Defense Minister Elias al-Murr said, in turn, that the american weapons delivered to Lebanon are not bounded by any condition. "I am not here to defend US policy and the Obama administration has affirmed it commitment in supporting the military unconditionally," he said, a few hours after Biden himself said that his administration will assess the US aids to Lebanon based on the post-election cabinet's policies.
Last month US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also made a brief stop in Beirut, where she expressed Washington's support for a "free, independent and sovereign" Lebanon and called for the election to be held without any intimidation or outside interference.
Analysts say that Biden and Clinton's visits, coming so near the legislative elections, could be a sign that Washington is meddling in the Lebanese affairs, seeking to influence the Lebanese in one way or another amid reports of "increasing worries" in the US of the probable opposition's victory in the elections.
But Simon Karam, Lebanon's former ambassador to Washington, said the visits by Clinton and Biden could signal a shift in US policy in Lebanon. "I think the United States is hedging its bets on the eve of this new term in Lebanese political life and signaling strongly that they will be investing in state institutions first and among these institutions, in the president," he said.
"There is a serious chance that the opposition will turn into the majority after the election, and the US will in this case have to re-orient its engagement in Lebanon," Karam noted. "And this visit could be one way for them to pave the way toward such a development."
Hezbollah Lashes Out at $3 Billion Grant to "Israel"
Biden's Three-Hour Tour
Analysis by Nicholas Noe in Middle East Times/Insight
"BEIRUT -- At some point today (Friday), U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden will sweep into the Lebanese capital for what will be yet another "three-hour" visit by a top U.S. official ahead of the critical June 7 parliamentary elections here.Like those who came before him in a similar fashion most recently -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- the vice president will likely offer a range of promises: The U.S. will never sell out Lebanon (like it did following the 1990 Gulf War when Syria was given the keys to the country); the U.S. wants an election free of violence and intimidation (alleged Israeli assassination networks and massive military maneuvers this week are free to proceed without criticism, however) and Hezbollah should give up its weapons and recognize Israel in order to get Washington's stamp of approval (i.e. give up, in advance, precisely what a credible political process is supposed to deliver as an end result).Biden's visit is intended to shore up the waning brand appeal of the pro-U.S. March 14 alliance before the polls. However, the VP and his advisors should consider that the long list of "lightning" visits over the last four years have actually tended to undermine exactly those leaders who were the purported beneficiaries.Indeed, unless Biden intends to dramatically break with past practices, his visit will merely underscore, yet again, that the U.S. is either unable or unwilling to deliver on key March 14 governing objectives: mainly, getting Israel to return occupied territory and end illegal over-flights, and seriously beefing up the Lebanese army beyond the donation of a lone Cessna aircraft and several dozen refurbished Jordanian tanks that, incredibly, still have yet to be delivered.If, conversely, Biden hopes to bolster President Michel Suleiman and a best-case scenario for March 14 that he might control a few swing MPs in the new parliament, the VP should also consider that Suleiman is necessarily, but precariously, positioned between the two opposing sides currently battling it out for the majority.A large bear hug by an administration that once again refuses to demonstrate how the U.S. embrace can actually deliver on repeated promises of support could instead have the effect of suffocating and undermining Suleiman, not unlike the suffocation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Either way, the now fashionable approach by Western governments to attach themselves to Suleiman will only reproduce exactly the strategy that ultimately doomed the "Cedar Revolution" of 2005, when Syrian troops were forced to leave following the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri: betting on a few parties and personalities rather than on core reforms.Should Suleiman become the new personality that the West, and especially America, openly invests in as their man in Beirut, it is not likely that he would be able to preserve the domestic credibility he desperately needs to drive the critical institutional changes: Ending the sectarian system of government and forging a compelling roadmap for Hezbollah's integration into the Lebanese army, both of which would truly benefit Lebanese, regional and international interests in the long-run.Sadly, Biden's visit to Beirut comes far too late and with little imagination or apparent thought as to why a new U.S. approach might be needed to finally address the problems that continue to plague Lebanon.When the VP explains to reporters today that the Obama administration will never sell the country out for any regional deal with Iran and/or Syria, one should remember that not pursing change, and not expending efforts to back up U.S. rhetoric, can also sometimes be just as destructive as selling out one's supposed friends."
![[Biden]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_u_FiefsGO8Vm73IE4S4Xtn-ueAe0DsKzpU9acwN9IZhJNPVCg3Z7tFOq4UNI_HJSp_eCw26zjtFSIXZJFAK7-tJvzGII8DiuujiuLqOX4GQey-7dBizyW3Mg-cJS6CxMWukQgd7CoF7yXKfaB_I_M=s0-d)
Posted by G, Z, & or B at 9:48 AM
Biden: "So I urge those who think about standing with the spoilers of peace not to miss this opportunity to walk away from the spoilers."
"...With Biden's visit following so closely after Clinton's, the attention from President Barack Obama's administration underscores concerns about a possible win by Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group.
"Lebanon has suffered terribly from war and we have a real opportunity now ... for peace," Biden said after talks with President Michel Suleiman. "So I urge those who think about standing with the spoilers of peace not to miss this opportunity to walk away from the spoilers."
Posted by G, Z, & or B at 10:35 AM
After talks with Saniora, Biden headed to the home of MP Nayla Moawad in Hazmiyeh to meet with top March 14 alliance officials.
“I do not come here to back any particular party or any particular person. I come here to back certain principles,” Mr. Biden told reporters after a meeting with President Michel Suleiman, a former chief of the armed forces who stays above the political fray..."
Posted by G, Z, & or B at 10:43 AM
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