Lebanon's independence and sovereignty is guaranteed "100 percent" by the Bush administration, according to the leader of the Lebanese Forces who met with top U.S. government officials in Washington last week.After a series of meetings with representatives from the House and Senate, top officials from the Bush administration which included U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Steven Hadley, President George W. Bush's national security adviser and Elliott Abrams, deputy national security adviser, Samir Geagea told the Middle East Times in an exclusive interview last Saturday that he felt more confident regarding the future of Lebanon.
Asked if he had received guarantees from the Bush administration, Geagea replied: "Concerning independence and sovereignty of Lebanon 100 percent, clearly enough. Guarantees concerning the Lebanese state as a state; guarantees concerning their [the U.S. government's] attitude toward the Palestinians in Lebanon. They [the Bush administration] are against the Palestinian refugees remaining in Lebanon; and guarantees that they will endeavor to get the Israelis out of the Shebaa farms [in south Lebanon] and place it under U.N. auspices."