Hersh: Bush administration arranged support for militants attacking Lebanon

[rodeodance]

There are so few real journalists left in the USA!


http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Hersh_Bush_arranged_support_for_militants_0522.html

Hersh: Bush administration arranged support for militants attacking Lebanon

David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Tuesday May 22, 2007


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In an interview on CNN International's Your World Today, veteran journalist Seymour Hersh explains that the current violence in Lebanon is the result of an attempt by the Lebanese government to crack down on a militant Sunni group, Fatah al-Islam, that it formerly supported.

Last March, Hersh reported that American policy in the Middle East had shifted to opposing Iran, Syria, and their Shia allies at any cost, even if it meant backing hardline Sunni jihadists.

A key element of this policy shift was an agreement among Vice President Dick Cheney, Deputy National Security Advisor Elliot Abrams, and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi national security adviser, whereby the Saudis would covertly fund the Sunni Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon as a counterweight to the Shia Hezbollah.

Hersh points out that the current situation is much like that during the conflict in Afghanistan in the 1980's – which gave rise to al Qaeda – with the same people involved in both the US and Saudi Arabia and the "same pattern" of the US using jihadists that the Saudis assure us they can control.

When asked why the administration would be acting in a way that appears to run counter to US interests, Hersh says that, since the Israelis lost to them last summer, "the fear of Hezbollah in Washington, particularly in the White House, is acute."

[KoKo]

1. Thanks for posting this.

I only caught the end of his appearance yesterday. Surprised that CNN would have had him on since CNN has been pumping war with Iran lately. It was their "international hour" so maybe it's a different crew.

[formercia]

2. More Blowback to follow. n/t

[Supersedeas]

3. a move promoted by the Dr. of diplomacy, Contessa Rice???

[formercia]

4. Crisis looming in Lebanon

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=952815&mesg_id=952815



Lebanese army trying to root out Bush Administration funded terrorist group.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,484359,00.html

Crisis Looms on Day Three of Camp Bombardment

The United Nations is warning of a humanitarian crisis as fighting raged for the third straight day at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. Aid workers have had difficulty entering the camp amid the violence.

Despite repeated attempts at a cease-fire, fighting in the Palestinian refugee camp Nahr el-Bared raged for a third straight day on Tuesday, with dozens of civilians dead in addition to at least 50 combatants killed. A brief lull in the fighting on Tuesday afternoon allowed aid workers to enter the camp, but a UN convoy had to withdraw as blasts and gunfire resumed.

Crisis Looms on Day Three of Camp Bombardment

The United Nations is warning of a humanitarian crisis as fighting raged for the third straight day at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. Aid workers have had difficulty entering the camp amid the violence.

Despite repeated attempts at a cease-fire, fighting in the Palestinian refugee camp Nahr el-Bared raged for a third straight day on Tuesday, with dozens of civilians dead in addition to at least 50 combatants killed. A brief lull in the fighting on Tuesday afternoon allowed aid workers to enter the camp, but a UN convoy had to withdraw as blasts and gunfire resumed.