 U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a satellite interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation late Wednesday that the removal from office of President Emile Lahoud "is a decision that has to be made in the Lebanese context."
| "We can't do it for you..." |
"However, the presidency should look toward the establishment of a truly independent Lebanon," she added. Rice said the presidency "should represent the future of Lebanon," adding that the process of change should be achieved through "cleaning the political institutions from foreign interference."
| Thereby equating Emile with the Syrian past... |
As for U.S. opinion regarding Hizbullah, she said: "Hizbullah committed terrorist acts in the world and against Americans." According to Rice, in order not to be considered a militia "Hizbullah has to give up its terrorist acts and disarm."
| We're being really, really nice and giving them the chance to go straight. My guess is that they won't take it until Iran's been flattened. |
Also speaking to the LBC, UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said Security Council Resolution 1559 stipulated that no arms should be present on Lebanese territory unless under the government's control.
| Hezbollah's the only militia I know of that retains its hardware. They're not the government, though they'd like to be. |
Meanwhile, Syria's press and legislators lashed out Wednesday at the Lebanese who denounced President Bashar Assad during a massive rally in Beirut to commemorate the passing of one year since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The state-controlled media did not publish reports or pictures of Tuesday's demonstration in the Lebanese capital, where some one million people applauded Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt for labeling Assad a "terrorist" who had imposed a pro-Syrian president on Lebanon. |