He sounds like a mole for the PLO. I hope that he does not have access to secret military information.
US congressmen to prove Hezbollah is strictly local, not a global operation by Khalil Fleihan [Corrected 11/18/01]
11/18/2001
Agence France-Presse
(Copyright 2001)
CORRECTION: ATTENTION - RECASTS throughout
BEIRUT, Nov 18 (AFP) - Lebanese President Emile Lahoud assured visiting US congressmen Sunday of a limit on the range of the militant fundamentalist Hezbollah movement's activities, in a bid to remove Hezbollah from a US list of terrorist groups.
"I am pleased that in a meeting earlier with (Lebanese) President Emile Lahoud, he has conveyed a strong message of limitation on the reach of Hezbollah which I'll take back to our State Department," California congressman Darrell Issa told reporters.
"We are taking back those assurances that Hezbollah does in fact have a limited scope. Our nations will work together to define that," he said, alluding to the US-led war on terror.
"If you're not an organisation of a global reach, then I think you fall into a different category, and it is our sincere hope to be working with the Lebanese government to ensure that Hezbollah will not be an organisation of a global reach," he said.
In the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States, Hezbollah, which is sponsored by Syria and Iran, was slapped on a US State Department list of terrorist organisations on November 2, with the aim of freezing the movement's financial assets.
But Lebanon and Syria have rejected the US list, which also includes Palestinian militant groups who endorse armed struggle against Israeli occupation, arguing that these are resistance groups and not terrorist movements.
Since Israel ended its 22 year occupation of south Lebanon in May 2000, Hezbollah, which is also a political party and welfare organisation, has waged guerrilla warfare on the Israeli army in a disputed border territory, kidnapping several Israelis and killing a handful more.
Issa stressed his commitment to bridging the gap on Hezbollah between the US and Lebanese government.
"I remain dedicated to this. This mission was dedicated to include that as a major part of it. We take a message from your president back to our president and we hope to have further dialogue," he added.
Issa and Congressman Nick Rahall (West Virginia), both of Lebanese descent, were leading a four-member delegation which visited Lebanon for about five hours on the second leg of a regional tour to discuss the Middle East peace process and the US-led war on terrorism.
Rahall said the US administration had come under pressure to put Hezbollah on the State Department list, "due to events that happened in the past with which Hezbollah has been associated with, but not directly responsible for."
In particular, Rahall was alluding to the 1983 suicide bombing of US Marine barracks in Beirut during Lebanon's civil war, which Hezbollah was linked, although it was never fully proven.
But the group has since it transformed itself into a legitimate part of the Lebanese political system and won admiration for successfully routing Israel from south Lebanon in 2000.
"I believe that this (US) administration wants to do what's right," Rahall said.
He also praised Lebanon's intentions.
"Lebanon, of all countries, certainly knows what terrorism effects are. Lebanon has been through it, Lebanon has never attacked anybody, nor have they taken anybody as a hostage," Rahall said.
Asked about reports over a possible meeting with Hezbollah officials, Issa said: "We haven't asked to meet the leaders of Hezbollah, we came here to meet with your elected officials."
On Saturday, the US delegation met in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his first meeting with US congressmen since he came to power in July 2000.
After the meeting, Issa said: "Hezbollah must renounce terrorism. If Hezbollah limited its activities to the humanitarian and governmental work it does in south Lebanon, it would never have been on that list."
The US delegation left Sunday to Cairo on the third stop of a regional tour that will also include Israel and the Palestinian territories.
NEWS FROM:
CONGRESSMAN DARRELL ISSA
Serving California's 48th District
1725 Longworth House Office Building, Washington,
DC 20515 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: DALE NEUGEBAUER 202-225-3906
November 28, 2001
ISSA DENOUNCES FALSE TEHRAN TIMES STORY
Propaganda Designed to Undermine Anti-Terror Mission
WASHINGTON, DC - Representative Darrell Issa today denounced as false a recent Tehran Times story (11/19/01) sourced to the Iranian government news agency (IRNA), that claimed the lawmaker had said the Iranian backed terrorist group Hezbollah was "legitimate" and had never committed terrorist acts. Issa recently led an official delegation of U.S. lawmakers to the region to solicit support for the U.S. War on Terrorism and to explore opportunities for progress in the Middle East Peace effort.
"The story printed in the Tehran Times is an outright lie," Issa declared. "They made it up. Our message was just the opposite. We repeatedly called on Hezbollah's state sponsors to pressure the group to renounce terrorism."
The three major western news services, Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France Press all reported Issa's call for Hezbollah to renounce terrorism, which was repeated as the group's visit to several Middle East countries progressed.
Issa made the statements in response to concerns raised by heads of state in Syria and Lebanon who objected to the United States listing Hezbollah as a terrorist organization of global-reach. "We made it very clear that renouncing terrorism was a requirement for removal from the target list," Issa explained. Excerpts from the wire service articles appear below:
Headline: Hezbollah must renounce terrorism:
US Congressman US Congressman Darrell Issa called here on Saturday for Lebanon's fundamentalist Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group to give up "terrorism." "Hezbollah must renounce terrorism," Issa, a Republican from California, said on a visit to Damascus with a congressional delegation. Hezbollah, which is sponsored by both Syria and Iran, was slapped on a US State Department list of terrorist organisations on November 2, with the aim of freezing the movement's financial assets.
-- Agence France Presse, 11/17/01
U.S. congressmen ask Lebanon to rein in Hizbollah
BEIRUT, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. Congressional delegation urged Lebanon on Sunday to end a standoff with Washington over its Hizbollah guerrillas by reining the group in and ensuring it stays out of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
The comments follow a U.S. decision earlier this month to put Hizbollah on a list of groups subject to financial sanctions as part of the anti-terror campaign launched after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
From the Associated Press, 11/17/01
The delegation's leader, Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told reporters that for the United States to remove Hezbollah from its list of terrorist organizations, the Lebanese-based group must renounce terrorism and confine itself to its humanitarian and parliamentary activities.
Hezbollah, which receives Syrian support, was the principal guerrilla force opposing the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon until the Israelis withdrew last year. It continues to attack Israeli troops over a tiny parcel of disputed land on Lebanon's southern border. However, it also operates as a political party, with nine members in parliament, and provides social services to low-income people.
Issa believes the Tehran Times story was an attempt by Hezbollah's Iranian backers to discredit the U.S. delegation. "We were delivering a very tough message," Issa said. "They didn't like it, so they made up their own and put our names on it."
Issa led a four member congressional delegation to the region on a trip sponsored by the House International Relations Committee. The lawmakers met with heads of state and government leaders in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Israel as well as representatives of the Palestinian Authority.
"We worked closely with U.S. State Department and Embassy officials in each country to ensure that the message we delivered was consistent with U.S. foreign policy and our interests in the region," Issa explained. "As a result, we had a tremendously successful trip."