 Syrian Minister of Immigrants Butheina Shaaban Thursday said the United States is creating strife in Lebanon to draw attention from Iraq and the Mideast. She said the political tensions sweeping Lebanon between the opposition and the regime were instigated by Washington. "Whoever reads well the declarations of President George Bush sees that the whole region is targeted," Shaaban told UPI. "We believe the escalation in Lebanon is aimed to draw attention away from Iraq and Palestine. It is part of a scheme to destabilize the whole Middle East region. ... After Syria pulled out its troops from Lebanon, the focus has shifted now on Hezbollah's arms," she said.
| Not to mention Hariri's corpse, or what's left of it... |
"The aim is not the withdrawal of the Syrian forces from Lebanon as such but straining the Lebanese-Syrian relations and undermining security and stability in Lebanon and Syria," Shaaban added. |