U.S. warns on ties with Hezbollah-backed Lebanon gov't

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that a Hezbollah-dominated government in Lebanon would affect the country's relations with the United States, which views Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

Since the collapse of the Lebanese government led by former pro-Western Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri this month, there has been speculation the United States might cut off aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces out of fear that U.S. arms could fall into the hands of Hezbollah and be used against Israel.

Hezbollah is on the official U.S. blacklist of foreign terrorist organizations, a designation that carries various financial and travel restrictions.

Republicans, who have gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives, have pledged to examine U.S. aid for Lebanon more closely and a senior Democrat on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama to stop arms transfers and review all assistance.

Clinton said Washington was monitoring moves to form a new government in Lebanon, where Hezbollah-backed politician Najib Mikati has been named prime minister in a move that shifts the balance of power in the country toward Iran and Syria.

"A Hezbollah-controlled government would clearly have an impact on our bilateral relationship with Lebanon," Clinton told reporters in an appearance with Spain's visiting foreign minister.

"Our bottom lines remain as they always have been," Clinton said. "We believe that justice must be pursued and impunity for murder ended. We believe in Lebanon's sovereignty and an end to outside interference."

The White House on Tuesday accused the Shi'ite Muslim group of using "coercion, intimidation and threats of violence" to achieve its political ends and said the new government must abide by the Lebanese constitution and renounce violence.

"As we see what this new government does, we will judge it accordingly," Clinton said.

Hezbollah's enhanced political strength appears likely to alarm Israel, Washington's chief ally in the region, which in 2006 fought a five-week war in a failed effort to destroy the Iran-backed movement's formidable military capacity.

U.S. officials said earlier this month Lebanon's political turmoil would not trigger an immediate cut in U.S. aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces, but suggested that the ties would come under speedy review.

Clinton has accused Hezbollah, whose decision to pull out of a coalition toppled the Harriri government, with attempting to subvert justice before expected indictments against the group over the February 2005 killing of his father, Rafik.

'HARD TO IMAGINE'

U.S. officials have also accused the movement of seeking to advance the interests of Iran.

"It is hard to imagine any government that is truly representative of all of Lebanon would abandon the effort to end the era of impunity for assassinations in the country. In the meantime, we call on all parties to maintain calm," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement.

The United States ramped up assistance to Lebanon's military after the 2006 war with Israel and has given the Lebanese Armed Forces an estimated $650 million to pay for such things as helicopter maintenance, weapons and ammunition, night-vision goggles and anti-tank missiles.

In a country with a long history of sectarian militias, the United States also hoped to help professionalize the army, reinforce the concept of civilian control of the military and, diminish the influence of Hezbollah's forces -- all goals that look harder to achieve following the latest political crisis.

"Terrorist Hezbollah's emergence as kingmaker of Lebanon's politics -- in addition to its well-established military dominance -- marks a sad day for Lebanon," Howard Berman, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a written statement.

"I call on President Obama immediately to suspend all weapons transfers to Lebanon and to review carefully all economic assistance programs in order to ensure that they are not inadvertently strengthening Hezbollah," he added.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed and David Alexander; Writing by Andrew Quinn and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)