Syria, Iran lack full Hizbollah control-US official

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25179748.htm

Syria, Iran lack full Hizbollah control-US official

WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - Syria can do far more to rein in Hizbollah, such as stopping arms flows into Lebanon, but is not capable of putting the militia "out of business," a top U.S. counterterrorism official said on Tuesday.

The Bush administration has said it is up to Hizbollah's two main backers Syria and Iran to exert their influence to stop the group's strikes against Israel.

U.S. President George W. Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair in an aside last week that the key to ending the current Middle East crisis was to "get Syria to get Hizbollah to stop doing this shit."

But Henry Crumpton, the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, said even Iran -- which he said had more influence than Syria -- did not have full control over the Islamist guerrillas.

[Kagemusha]

1. Praise the man for having a brain and eyes to see the obvious.

But I bet he'll be scolded regardless.

[zreosumgame]

6. Harry better not fly in any small private planes...

n/t

[AnOhioan]

2. Time for another "spend time with family" retirement. n/t

[madrchsod]

3. george thinks that syria and iran

can control hizbollah like george controls our house and senate...it`s the real world george. you`re dealing with grown ups now

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

4. Bush probably spent about an hour the other day...

...trying to locate Hezbollah on a map of the Middle East.

[saigon68]

5. He is slow----Look at his eyes

[daleo]

7. The U.S. can't control Iraq or Afghanistan

And that's after two invasions, and with nearly 200,000 troops in the two countries. Common sense tell you that Syria and Iran are going to have much less leverage over Hezbollah than the U.S. has over Iraq and Afghanistan - i.e. not much at all.