US ambassador in Lebanon Summoned over Interference in Lebanese Affairs

US Envoy Summoned over Interference in Lebanese Affairs

17/01/2011 One day after she cut her weekend short in order to visit MP Nicolas Fattoush in Zahle and rally his support for nominating former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, US Ambassador Maura Connelly was summoned on Monday by Lebanon’s Caretaker Foreign Ministry.

"Minister Ali al-Shami considered this type of communication interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon," the ministry said in a statement.

US DOES NOT INTERFERE IN LEBANON'S MATTERS?!

An embassy official confirmed the Connelly-Shami meeting while claiming that Washington was not seeking to interfere in Lebanese politics. "Ambassador Connelly met with the caretaker foreign minister today," an embassy spokesman told AFP. "She explained to him that the United States has regular contact with personalities from across Lebanon's political spectrum as part of its diplomatic mission," he added.

"The United States does not interfere in Lebanon's internal political matters. The shape and composition of the government is of course a Lebanese matter," he said, adding that his country hoped all Lebanese parties would cooperate on forming a new government.

The embassy spokesman did not justify, however, the US insistence in violating all laws and norms, ignoring the Foreign Minister in all the ambassador’s trips and visits.

US ENVOY PROVING SHE'S INTERFERING IN EVERYTHING

Speaker Nabih Berri has earlier criticized Connelly’s visit to Fattoush, believed to be a clear indication of US meddling in Lebanon’s internal affairs on the eve of parliamentary consultations which was postponed till next Monday. “They say there is no US interference in the affairs of Lebanon and the region. On the contrary, they are interfering in everything from southern Sudan all the way to Zahle,” Berri told Lebanese daily An-Nahar.

He described Connelly’s visit to Fattoush on Sunday as a “disgrace” and said the ambassador is proving that "she is interfering in the parliamentary consultations,” adding that Fattoush “will not easily abandon his patriotic convictions.” The lawmaker “will turn to his political and national conscience” and “will not give up his national convictions,” Berri said.

US ambassador in Lebanon

Via Angry Arab

"On Monday, Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry summoned the United States ambassador, Maura Connelly, whom it criticized for “interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs” after she visited a lawmaker who was undecided about his choice for prime minister.

That visit soon became the butt of jokes on Lebanese television.

The lawmaker, Nicola Fattoush, is a relatively minor politician; that he warranted a visit by the ambassador illustrated the perception that the next prime minister would not be chosen by Parliament, but by a half-dozen or so foreign embassies in Beirut."

Not half-dozen. The US, Saudi Arabia, and Syria are the key ones.

(Believe it or not, Hizbullah has more independence in decision-making in Lebanon about internal Lebanese matters than Syrian puppets have vis-a-vis Syrian regime or US puppets or Saudi puppets have vis-a-vis the Saudi or US governments.)

The summon of the US ambassador is seen as an unusual humiliation for the US ambassador, and is unprecedented in Lebanese contemporary history (the only other time that I can think of is when Sulayman Franjiyyah got so pissed at the US when his luggage at JFK were inspected by sniffing dogs back in 1974).

As-Safir and Al-Akhbar has details about the summon of the ambassador. The entire event was orchestrated by parliament speaker, Nabih Birri who was furious when he saw the ambassador visiting the insignificant MP, Niqula Fattush. Apparently, the ambassador (who received the idea of the visit from Jeffrey Feltman who is closely coordinating the Hariri camp now) told the minister (a Birri Minister) that he does not have the powers to summon her because his cabinet lost the majority vote. He told her that he knows his prerogatives. She tried to bizarrely explain the visit by saying that she had also visited Michel `Awn (the minister should have reminded her that the ambassador regularly visits leaders of parliamentary blocs and never visits insignificant MPs).

Also, MP Fattush himself exposed her lies because he talked to the press after the US ambassador's visit and made it clear as to why she visited him.

Posted by As'ad at 8:54 AM

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