The United States voiced support Friday for talks in Qatar aimed at ending Lebanon's sectarian clashes while hoping from afar that Hezbollah does not turn its military gains into political ones.US officials have contacted Qatar's prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani and other Arab mediators to assure them of support for negotiations between Lebanon's pro-Western majority and Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria.
"What we are doing is making it clear first of all that we do support this process because there are a lot of people who would like to say that we don't," a senior US State Department official, who requested anonymity, told reporters.
"We are in touch with Lebanese from across the political spectrum ... to note that we are supporting this process, that we will be helpful but not interfering with this process," the official said.
US President George W. Bush's administration does not want Hezbollah, which it brands a terrorist movement, to use any US remarks as a pretext for bolting the negotiations if they are unable to accept concessions, he said.
However, analysts doubt how neutral Washington can be toward a gathering with potentially serious regional consequences.
Paul Salem, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Friday that the United States and its ally Saudi Arabia had drawn "red lines" for the Lebanese government.
He said the main one is not to allow Hezbollah to gain a "blocking third," which would give it a veto over government decisions.
"Hezbollah has made some real gains on the ground and is likely to make some real gains in politics, in agreements that are made in the next days or weeks," the Beirut-based analyst told a conference call with reporters in Washington.
But the senior State Department official said Washington would not intervene in the negotiations to form a future government.
"In terms of the composition of the cabinet, it really is truly a Lebanese decision, it is not an American decision," said the official.
But he could not stop himself from saying that the question of disarming Hezbollah -- required by UN Security Council resolution 1559 in 2004 -- should be on the agenda of the negotiations in Doha, the Qatari capital.
The conference agenda, announced by the Arab League on Thursday, calls for "launching a dialogue to shore up the authority of the Lebanese state throughout the country and its relations with the different parties in Lebanon in order to guarantee the security of the state and its citizens."
The official said: "That reference in the document of yesterday and the fact that the same participants are in Doha that were in the 2006 dialogue, suggests to me that yes, Hezbollah's arms will be part of this national dialogue.
"Certainly the question of Hezbollah's arms is even more important now that Hezbollah has exposed itself to the Lebanese and to the world for what they would use them for," the senior official said.
Since clashes erupted more than a week ago between supporters of the opposition and the majority, US officials say Hezbollah has lost legitimacy as an anti-Israeli resistance movement by turning its arsenal on fellow Lebanese.
The clashes have claimed the lives of at least 65 people and wounded more than 200 others.