U.S. cautiously welcomes Lebanon deal
(Adds details, analyst comments)
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday put the best face on a deal between Lebanese factions, praising it despite concessions won by Hezbollah but cautioning that the political crisis was not yet over.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was a move toward resolving the latest crisis in Lebanon, which threatened to become all-out civil war following a military campaign by Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah this month.
"We view this agreement as a positive step towards resolving the current crisis by electing a president, forming a new government and addressing Lebanon's electoral law," Rice said in a statement.
The Arab League mediated a deal between the U.S.-backed ruling coalition of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and the Hezbollah-led opposition, resolving a dispute over a law for holding 2009 parliamentary elections and meeting the opposition's long-standing demand for veto power in Cabinet.
Analysts said the agreement was a clear defeat for Siniora's government and demonstrated Hezbollah strength on the ground, a view dismissed by senior U.S. officials who argued that Hezbollah's image was damaged by the latest fighting.
Senior State Department official David Welch welcomed the accord negotiated in Doha, Qatar, but said there was still a long way to go and the pact must be fully implemented.
"This is not the end of this crisis. Lebanon still has to go through implementing this agreement. These are very delicate political subjects for Lebanon," Welch told reporters.
Asked whether he believed Lebanon's government had caved in to Hezbollah's demands, Welch said: "It is not for us to decide how Lebanon does this, how Lebanon's political leadership addresses this."
Rice made a point to stress that Lebanon's government should have complete control of its territory.
"The United States supports the government of Lebanon and its complete authority over the entire territory of the country," she said.
HEZBOLLAH EMERGES STRONGER?
The latest fighting was Lebanon's worst civil conflict since a 1975-1990 war and exacerbated tensions between Shi'ites loyal to Hezbollah and Druze and Sunni supporters of the government.
Middle East expert Anthony Cordesman said what emerged from the latest fighting was that Hezbollah was the dominant force in Lebanon, the army would not take sides and the end result was a strengthening of Syria and Iran's role there.
"The Siniora government very badly miscalculated. They posed a challenge (against Hezbollah) without being prepared," said Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
"Now they are confronted with a situation where at best they are going to be perceived as weak and at worst Hezbollah's influence will suddenly grow and, with it, the problems of Lebanon in dealing with Syria and Iran."
Paul Salem of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace also said the Doha deal was a setback for the Siniora government in that Hezbollah would gain in influence.
"The government in the end felt it had no choice," he said.
But State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said there were "real costs" associated with Hezbollah's recent military campaign that killed 81 people and prompted the Qatari-led mediation.
"They used their arms to kill their fellow citizens and so this myth that they have tried to perpetuate there that this is somehow a resistance movement has really been completely destroyed by their actions," said McCormack.
A senior Bush administration official, who asked not to be named, said the recent fighting made Hezbollah less popular.
"Hezbollah may have won a tactical victory on the street," the official said. "They asserted their control but they put at risk their political image." (Editing by John O'Callaghan)
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday put the best face on a deal between Lebanese factions, praising it despite concessions won by Hezbollah but cautioning that the political crisis was not yet over.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was a move toward resolving the latest crisis in Lebanon, which threatened to become all-out civil war following a military campaign by Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah this month.
"We view this agreement as a positive step towards resolving the current crisis by electing a president, forming a new government and addressing Lebanon's electoral law," Rice said in a statement.
The Arab League mediated a deal between the U.S.-backed ruling coalition of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and the Hezbollah-led opposition, resolving a dispute over a law for holding 2009 parliamentary elections and meeting the opposition's long-standing demand for veto power in Cabinet.
Analysts said the agreement was a clear defeat for Siniora's government and demonstrated Hezbollah strength on the ground, a view dismissed by senior U.S. officials who argued that Hezbollah's image was damaged by the latest fighting.
Senior State Department official David Welch welcomed the accord negotiated in Doha, Qatar, but said there was still a long way to go and the pact must be fully implemented.
"This is not the end of this crisis. Lebanon still has to go through implementing this agreement. These are very delicate political subjects for Lebanon," Welch told reporters.
Asked whether he believed Lebanon's government had caved in to Hezbollah's demands, Welch said: "It is not for us to decide how Lebanon does this, how Lebanon's political leadership addresses this."
Rice made a point to stress that Lebanon's government should have complete control of its territory.
"The United States supports the government of Lebanon and its complete authority over the entire territory of the country," she said.
HEZBOLLAH EMERGES STRONGER?
The latest fighting was Lebanon's worst civil conflict since a 1975-1990 war and exacerbated tensions between Shi'ites loyal to Hezbollah and Druze and Sunni supporters of the government.
Middle East expert Anthony Cordesman said what emerged from the latest fighting was that Hezbollah was the dominant force in Lebanon, the army would not take sides and the end result was a strengthening of Syria and Iran's role there.
"The Siniora government very badly miscalculated. They posed a challenge (against Hezbollah) without being prepared," said Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
"Now they are confronted with a situation where at best they are going to be perceived as weak and at worst Hezbollah's influence will suddenly grow and, with it, the problems of Lebanon in dealing with Syria and Iran."
Paul Salem of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace also said the Doha deal was a setback for the Siniora government in that Hezbollah would gain in influence.
"The government in the end felt it had no choice," he said.
But State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said there were "real costs" associated with Hezbollah's recent military campaign that killed 81 people and prompted the Qatari-led mediation.
"They used their arms to kill their fellow citizens and so this myth that they have tried to perpetuate there that this is somehow a resistance movement has really been completely destroyed by their actions," said McCormack.
A senior Bush administration official, who asked not to be named, said the recent fighting made Hezbollah less popular.
"Hezbollah may have won a tactical victory on the street," the official said. "They asserted their control but they put at risk their political image." (Editing by John O'Callaghan)
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