US gropes for way to support besieged Lebanese government
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States groped Wednesday for a way to support Lebanon's besieged pro-Western government, mulling action within the UN Security Council and speeding up modest aid deliveries to the army.
In Jerusalem, at the beginning of a Middle East tour that includes talks on the crisis, US President George W. Bush reaffirmed support for Lebanon's elected government against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.
But so far it appeared there was little Washington and its allies could do.
State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters in Washington he expected consultations on Lebanon to take place in the UN Security Council "over the next couple of days."
But he added: "At this point I think it is not entirely clear what kind of action might come out of these discussions."
The UN Security Council held an informal meeting on Lebanon on Wednesday morning but decided to await the results of mediation by the Arab League before any formal talks on the crisis, diplomats said.
A Western diplomat who took part in talks at the UN Security Council said later that the participants agreed "basically that the Council would follow events on the ground, Arab League mission etc, and would discuss it soon.
"But we didn't set a time, a date for that," said the diplomat who asked not to be named.
National security officials traveling with Bush said Washington would try to enlist key Arab states and the United Nations to pressure Syria and Iran over their alleged support for Hezbollah's uprising.
In Jerusalem, Bush reaffirmed support for Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.
"Hezbollah is supported by Iran, and it's an Iranian effort to destabilize Lebanon's democracy, and the United States stands strongly with the Siniora government," Bush said.
Conceding that Washington's ability to influence events is limited, the US State Department has until now done little more than applaud efforts by the 22-member Arab League, itself divided over the events.
"A lot of diplomacy is by remote control," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters on Friday.
An Arab League delegation met with rival leaders in Beirut on Wednesday in a bid to mediate a settlement to a week of deadly sectarian gunbattles that have driven Lebanon close to civil war.
The Lebanese government said later that, in order to facilitate the Arab League efforts and preserve national unity, it was revoking measures against Hezbollah that led to the violence.
Casey said the United States would speed up previously-agreed deliveries of military aid under a two-year-old program aimed at helping the Lebanese army carry out its "mandate to provide security for the entirety of the country."
But there are doubts over the ability of the army -- made up of Christians, Druze, Sunnis and Shiites -- to rein in a well-armed Shiite militia like Hezbollah without falling prey to sectarian impulses within.
Casey said the United States will try to move aid "things through the pipeline in an expedited fashion."
A US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said light aid such as personal protective gear, communications equipment and ammunition might be shipped over the next week or two rather than in six weeks, as scheduled.
