US ambassador praises Suleiman ’s leadership

The US embassy issued a statement that President Michel Suleiman and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison met Monday at Baabda Palace, where she reiterated her “support for a strong and independent Lebanon” . (more…)

Israeli PM: No concession on Jewish settlements

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out any concession on the building of settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, despite international pressure.

Mr Netanyahu said he had written to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to remove any doubt about the issue.

He made the remarks hours before he left for Washington to address the influential pro-Israeli group, Aipac.

He has been invited to meet President Barack Obama on Tuesday, indicating a possible thaw in relations. (more…)

Syria’s link to Hezbollah clouds honeymoon with U.S.

Emboldened by its strong ties with Iran and Turkey, Syria is ignoring U.S. demands that it stop backing Hezbollah, despite the risk that this will spoil its rapprochement with Washington and raise regional tensions.

Syria’s support for the armed Lebanese Shi’ite movement is at odds with its stated aims of improving relations with the United States and resuming peace negotiations with Hezbollah’s arch-foe Israel, diplomats and political analysts said. (more…)

Lebanese Police graduate from U.S. training program

The U.S. embassy in Lebanon Thursday announced the graduation of Lebanese police officers from an American training course amid internal debate over the nature of this program, stating that “the first class of 73 Internal Security Forces (ISF) cadets and officers” graduated on Wednesday “from the newly developed Community Policing training class.” (more…)

Pro-Israel group AIPAC hits the White House

The pro-Israel group AIPAC, which had been at pains for much of President Obama’s term to downplay tensions between his administration and Benjamin Netanyahu’s, is criticizing Obama in the sharpest terms to date after a series of administration officials sharply reprimanded Netanyahu for the announcement of new housing units in East Jerusalem during Joe Biden’s trip. (more…)

Clinton pushing Syria to end interference in Lebanon

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday the United States is urging Syria to distance itself from Iran as well as to stop arming Hizbullah and interfering in Lebanon. It was the first time Clinton stated so bluntly that Washington wants to drive a wedge between Damascus and Tehran, which is the target of a U.S.-led drive for sanctions aimed at halting the Iranian nuclear program. (more…)

Lebanese Army strategy and roadmap sees vast improvements

Talks between Defense Minister Elias Murr and U.S. officials on supporting the Lebanese army have reached agreement on several points, including military aid that will arrive early next month as well as army needs for the coming three, five and 10 years.

U.S. sources said the Lebanese army has made a “qualitative leap” in the presentation of its strategy.

The U.S. government, however, expressed the need for a strategic vision in the form of a military plan for the development of the Lebanese Army in order to help guide U.S. Assistance Programs to meet Lebanese needs.
Murr said he was satisfied with the meetings in Washington “since the Lebanese army now has a road map for its needs.”

“The Lebanese army also has a clear strategy – ‘what army for what mission’ – for the first time since independence (from France),” Murr added.

U.S. introduces next ambassador to Lebanon

Maura Connelly, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department Near Eastern Affairs bureau, and former charge d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Damascus, will be nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, diplomatic sources say. That’s the job her boss Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman previously held.

Connelly traveled with State counterterrorism coordinator Dan Benjamin to Syria last week. She served as charge in Damascus from 2008-2009, and in the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in 2003.

From 1993-1996, Connelly served as the political section chief at the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, where she was awarded for her reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and in the late 1980s, she served as the head of the political section at the U.S. embassy in Algiers. She has also served as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in London.

She’s due to speak next month at the Middle East Institute on the Obama administration’s Lebanon policy. (Politico)

The west offers to help Iran purchase medical isotopes

The United States and other nations seeking to restrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions are offering to help the Islamic republic purchase medical isotopes on the international market, administration officials said Tuesday.
The offer, officials said, is meant to persuade Iran to halt its controversial push to produce fuel for a medical research reactor. U.S. officials say Tehran’s enrichment plan — it announced this week that it is producing higher-grade enriched uranium than ever before — is evidence that it is pursuing fuel for a bomb. Washington Post

US rejects the idea of a prisoner swap with Iran

The United States on Wednesday dismissed the idea of a prisoner swap with Iran, saying Americans held there should be freed immediately and cannot be equated with Iranians convicted in US courts.
In a state television interview, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that talks about exchanging prisoners with Washington were under way, when he was asked about the fate of three American hikers detained in Iran.
The State Department reacted Wednesday by dismissing the idea of a swap — an even stronger stand than the White House took on Tuesday when it denied any such talks had taken place.
“We’re not interested in a swap per se,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
“We are interested in resolving the cases of our citizens,” he said, repeating calls for the immediate release of three hikers detained six months ago. AFP