Posted on 10/01/2003 9:43:01 AM PDT by knighthawk
US Congressman Eliot Engel said in a statement Tuesday that the Lebanese decision to charge former Army Commander General Michel Aoun with sectarian sedition was “outrageous” and demonstrated that “the Lebanese government is a Syrian puppet.”
This was the first time a congressman has severely attacked the Lebanese government for pro-Syrian positions. It was also one of the rare times where American politicians have clearly commented on internal Lebanese politics.
During a phone interview with The Daily Star, Engel said his position did not amount to interference in internal politics of a foreign country, adding that he was not dictating to the Lebanese people what to do, but Syria is, and that he was ready to take a stand for people who were occupied everywhere.
“This is not (Lebanese) internal affairs, this is part of fighting terrorism and Syria is sponsoring the terrorist groups in Lebanon,” he said.
He said that “it is outrageous that the Lebanese government has charged General Michel Aoun for urging the Congress to help get Syria out of Lebanon.”
Earlier this month, Aoun testified to the US Congress in support of the Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, which calls for Syria to “end its occupation of Lebanon.” As a result, the state prosecutor’s office pressed charges against Aoun for straining relations between Lebanon and Syria.
Engel said it was “outrageous” that someone would be indicted for what he said, adding that the Lebanese government had effectively indicted itself by attacking people over “their beliefs … this is ridiculous.”
But Engel said he hoped that US pressure could put an end to the charges. “I hope that we would have a lot of people like (US Ambassador Vincent) Battle and Secretary of State Colin Powell … express their outrage soon and speak out the way I am because they are realizing the importance of the situation. I will do what I can to make them speak out.”
A source from Congress told The Daily Star on Tuesday that Battle was already pressuring the Lebanese government to drop charges against Aoun.
“I consider this action as an attempt by the Syrian-controlled Lebanese government to inspire fear among those who would tell the United States Congress the truth,” Engel said.
Engel, a member of the Congress Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, is the sponsor of the act in the House of Representatives.
“General Aoun is a Lebanese patriot because he wants the people of Lebanon to be able to govern themselves,” Engel said. “I stand with General Aoun and other Lebanese patriots who demand a Lebanon free from Syrian occupation,” the representative of New York’s 17th Congressional District added.
Engel accused Syria of masterminding the charges against Aoun and said that having Syria behind such charges was an additional reason for the Congress to pass the act. “Let’s get Damascus out of Beirut and give the Lebanese people the freedom to rule themselves,” Engel added.
The bill demands Damascus “halt Syrian support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon, stop its development of weapons of mass destruction, cease its illegal importation of Iraqi oil and illegal shipments of weapons and other military items to Iraq, and by so doing, hold Syria accountable for the serious international security problems it has caused in the Middle East.”
“It will pass overwhelmingly,” Engel said, adding that the bill already had a lot of support in Congress, the Senate and both political parties, and that the Bush administration was not opposing it. The act has received the endorsement of 272 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives of a total of 435, and 73 senators out 100.
“We look forward to seeing Lebanon free,” he said. “Lebanon is the only founder of the United Nations that is currently occupied.”
The act mentions Hizbullah, which has been on the US State Department’s list of terrorist organization since 1979, as a Syrian-sponsored terrorist organization.
Engel said that Hizbullah “is running free” at the Lebanese border with Israel and keeping the situation boiling “because Syria wants that,” adding that this was jeopardizing the region’s stability and should end soon.
Well, DUH! This is the same Congress that grills the SECDEF about his actions in Iraq in the morning then votes itself another annual pay raise in the afternoon before heading to their favorite watering hole to pick up their endorsement checks from their lobbyists and PACs. Get a clue!
He had best support President George W. Bush then and make it easier for him to attack Syria (if necessary) or not oppose an Israeli attack (if necessary).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.