Jumblat Seeking U.S. Aid Against Syria
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| Druze leader Walid Jumblat said he was in Washington seeking U.S. aid to fight Syria’s “indirect occupation” of Lebanon. “It is not a secret. Yes I am seeking assistance,” said Jumblat, a prominent lawmaker from the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority. “I need more assistance politically, militarily against indirect Syrian occupation because the direct Syrian occupation is no more.” Jumblat, who is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday, said in an American Enterprise Institute conference that Syria still holds sway in an “indirect” occupation, working through Hizbullah and other allies. “I will do everything to liberate my country from indirect Syrian occupation,” said Jumblat, the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon. Lebanon has been in turmoil since the Feb. 2005 murder of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, which has been widely blamed on Syria. The assassination forced an end to 29 years of Syrian military domination in Lebanon. Since then, Lebanon has been shaken by other attacks, which many also blame on Syria, a war between Israel and Hizbullah that left 1,200 mostly civilian Lebanese dead, and a Hizbullah-led opposition campaign to oust the government of Premier Fouad Saniora. Jumblat also met with U.S. President George Bush on Monday, An Nahar newspaper said. It said Bush reiterated his government’s support for the creation of a Special International Tribunal for Lebanon to prosecute suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder and related crimes. An Nahar said the U.S. president also reiterated his commitment in backing the Saniora government politically, economically and militarily.(AFP-Naharnet) |
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| Beirut, 27 Feb 07 | ||
