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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Iranian Cadres Training Hezbollah Fighters in Lebanon | |
| 2005-07-28 | |
| WASHINGTON (AP) - Iranian cadres are training Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, a State Department official told Congress on Thursday. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch told the House International Relations Committee the information was provided by "our own sources." Welch also testified there was "a continuing covert Syrian presence there" despite the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. And, Welch said, there are armed Palestinian groups in Lebanon, as well. He said the United States would have no contact with Lebanon's energy and water minister, Mohammed Fneish, who is a member of Hezbollah. Welch reiterated the long-standing U.S. view that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. The group is known to operate with weapons provided by Iran that are channeled to it through Syria, which borders Lebanon. Asked by Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., whether Iranian cadres were training Hezbollah in Lebanon, Welch replied, "Yes." Welch said the Lebanese army should extend its authority to southern Lebanon and the militia groups should be disarmed. But on Wednesday, the leader of Hezbollah said no one can uproot the Shiite Muslim group. "The resistance in Lebanon is not an armed gang that can be hit or eradicated," he told supporters in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora pledged to protect Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese government considers it "an honest and natural expression" of resistance to Israeli aggression and threats. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., called the statement "profoundly disturbing." He said he was not aware of any Israeli threats to Lebanon. Welch agreed. Challenging Saniora, whose government has the Bush administration's support, Welch said, "There is no part of Lebanon occupied by Israel." "I don't know what they would be resisting," he said. "Hezbollah admits its material support for Palestinian terrorist operations, which undermines the Palestinian leadership's goal of stopping violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories," Welch said. Still, Welch and James Kunder, an assistant administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said the administration had asked Congress to approve $35 million in U.S. aid and $1.7 million in other support. He said plans would be made for an international donors conference in Beirut this fall. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 The MM are supporting Hezbollah and this is NEWS in 2005? Where the hell have these people been? Even the NYT reported this over 20 freakin' years ago! |
| Posted by: Brett 2005-07-28 20:22 |