US says still not distinguishing between Hezbollah's political and armed wings
The U.S. has said that its position “has not changed” regarding the designation of Hezbollah in its entirety as a “terrorist organization,” following recent remarks in Beirut by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack.
“Hezbollah is a designated terrorist organization, and we do not distinguish between its political or armed wings,” U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in response to a reporter’s question.
“As Ambassador Barrack said while in Beirut, Lebanon must utilize this moment to make progress, and that includes progress on disarming Hezbollah,” she added.
“The Lebanese Armed Forces have made progress on disarming Hezbollah in the south, but there is still more to be done,” Bruce said.
“We do not want to see Hezbollah or any other terrorist group in Lebanon recover their ability to commit violence and threaten the security in Lebanon or in Israel,” she stressed.
Barrack had said during his visit that “Hezbollah is a political party, and it also has an armed wing.”
“Hezbollah needs to see that there is a future for them, and that this path is not meant to be only against them, and that there is an intersection between peace and prosperity for them as well,” he added.
He later said in an interview on LBCI television that “Hezbollah is a foreign terrorist organization in the world's view, except maybe for France.”
“And here, I think Hezbollah is a political party here, I think they have thirteen ministers or so. It's a political party. It's also a terrorist party,” he added.
“They mess with us anywhere, just as the President has established on a military basis, they're going to have a problem with us. They don't want to have a problem with us,” Barrack said, noting that “patience and timeliness” are needed in dealing with Hezbollah by the Lebanese themselves.
Source: Naharnet
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