Iran, Syria, Plot – Be Afraid!

According to CNN the U.S. sees evidence of plot to topple Lebanese government:

The White House announcement came as the militant group Hezbollah threatened street protests to force early elections in Lebanon. Hezbollah is demanding creation of a “national unity” cabinet that would give the Islamic militants and their allies veto power over key decisions.

The BBC article, and Turkish Weekly say US Issues Lebanon ‘Plot’ Warning:

The White House said it was “increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah, and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon’s democratically-elected government.

“There are indications that one goal of the Syrian plan is to prevent the current Lebanese government from approving the statute for an international tribunal that would try those accused of involvement in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination,” the statement continued.

But the Syrian ambassador to the US, Imad Mustapha, told the BBC’s Newshour programme that the allegations were “ridiculous, verging on the silly”.

“It’s a shame that the United States, a world superpower, would belittle itself to such petty politics. Let’s be clear about this. Today, in Lebanon, there is a domestic political bickering. This is a purely Lebanese issue.

“We, in Syria, respect the sovereignty of Lebanon, we are not interfering on this, and we call on the United States to follow suit and not to interfere in Lebanese domestic issues,” Mr Mustapha said.

Lebanon has a parliamentary government. Hezbollah is a political party. Hezbollah thinks that its party will get a bigger share of the seats in the parliament if early elections are called. This is the way multi-party parliamentary systems work. This is the reason for the recent elections in Israel – Sharon started a new party and “toppled the … democratically-elected government.” I guess I missed the outcry from the White House on that one.

“Imad Mustapha said the United States should stop blaming other countries for its own mistakes in the Middle East.”