Rice Says Lebanon Much Better Than Before
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saw that Lebanon was better off today than under the previous U.S. administrations.
"Lebanon today is different. It is much better off since the current U.S. administration came to power," Rice said in remarks published by the pan-Arab al-Hayat newspaper in Arabic and translated into English by Naharnet. She cited a series of achievements that were not made before.
When asked to comment about reports that the U.S. has "lost" Lebanon because Hizbullah kept its military might and transformed the country into an Iranian base, Rice said: "I spent some time with President Michel Suleiman who spoke about U.S. help to build a better Lebanese army.
"Let us remember," she told the newspaper, "that before the year 2006 the Lebanese army wasn”t present in the south of the country.
"Let us remember that the army took measures against (refugee) camps, a move it was unable to carry out in the past.
"Let us also remember that Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon after years of hegemony and that Lebanon now has a democratically elected government headed by Premier Fouad Saniora," she added.
About Hizbullah”s arms, Rice said: "Suleiman stressed during the national dialogue that weapons should be kept in the hands of Lebanese authorities."