Feltman: Despite its Popular Support, Hizbullah is a Threat to Lebanon and the Region
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman warned that Hizbullah”s arms pose a threat to Lebanon and the region although he admitted that the party has popular support and is represented in parliament.
"We cannot deny that Hizbullah enjoys popular support in Lebanon and is a member of parliament … Our problem with Hizbullah is linked to its possession of weapons that threaten Lebanon and the region," Feltman told Kuwait”s al-Qabas newspaper in an interview published Wednesday.
On the international tribunal that would try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri”s suspected assassins, the top U.S. official said: "The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is a professional tribunal that abides by international standards. We have put our full trust in it."
The court is neither part of the U.S.-Syrian dialogue, nor the American-Lebanese dialogue, Feltman stressed.
Asked about U.S. President Barack Obama”s latest decision to send an ambassador to Damascus, Feltman considered the move important although he said the U.S. still has strong differences with Syria.
"Syria has a definition to Hizbullah different than ours," he said.
The former ambassador to Beirut said the U.S. has an interest in seeing a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace that includes Syria and Lebanon later on.
Asked about Syrian-Israeli talks, Feltman told his interviewer that rapprochement does not come at the expense of another party. "A (possible) Lebanese-Israeli rapprochement wouldn”t also come at the expense of another side. Comprehensive peace should be in everybody”s interest in the region."