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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanon set to cancel anti-Hezbollah measures |
| 2008-05-15 |
| Lebanon's cabinet is likely to cancel measures on Wednesday that angered the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement and triggered the worst internal conflict since the country's civil war, political sources said. "You can say it's a done deal, but we're waiting for the cabinet meeting," one political source said shortly before Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who is supported by the United States, convened his ministers for talks at 4:30 p.m. British time. Other political sources said later the cabinet was also debating the timing of any announcement of the cancellations. Rescinding a ban on Hezbollah's communications network and the sacking of Beirut airport's security chief, who is close to the group, is one of Hezbollah's demands to lift its blockade of the airport and its campaign of civil disobedience. It would also be a first step towards easing a broader 18-month-long standoff between Siniora's government and opposition forces that has left Lebanon without a president since November. At least 81 people have been killed since violence broke out on May 7 following the cabinet decisions against Hezbollah, which routed its rivals in six days of fighting and briefly seized control of parts of Beirut. U.S. President George W. Bush, in Jerusalem to celebrate the anniversary of Israel's founding in 1948, accused Iran on Wednesday of using the Islamist Shi'ite Hezbollah to destabilise Lebanon. He said: "This is an Iranian effort to destabilise their young democracy." He said the United States stood by Lebanon, a parliamentary democracy since independence from France in 1943. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 As long as the Lebanese government sees that Bush will do nothing about Iran they have no choice but to compromise with Hezbollah. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2008-05-15 12:04 |
| #2 It seemed to me like a significant Hez victory at least in the tactical sense but a fair number of people at Totten's blog see it differently. These folks see it in the strategic sense of making people dislike Hez (including a bunch of Shia), gaining support for partition and various other points of view. |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-05-15 09:44 |
| #1 ISRAELNN > ISRAEL'S NORTHERN BORDER TURNS IRANIAN AS ARAB LEAGUE ARRIVES; + REPORT: IRANIAN TERRORISTS FIGHTING IN LEBANON. Several Members of IRGC QUDS FORCE allegedly arrested, ala YA LIBNAN NEWS. YNETNEWS/TOPIX > IRAN PITCHES ITS NUCLEAR PLAN, + IRAN NUCLEAR PLAN: NO HALT TO ENRICHMENT, FAVORS UN-WATCHED SET UP OF INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR CENTRES. Read - Legally Overtly spreading the Nuctech love to GLOBAL/WORLD ISLAMISM, sub-read ISLAMIST MILITANT-TERROR GROUPS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-05-15 00:15 |