After Sharon Visit, Rice Drops By Beirut
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pays a six-hour visit to Lebanon after talks in Israel with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. She will meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas Saturday.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks today with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. They met for several hours at Sharon's ranch in the Negev Desert. Much of the discussion focused on the upcoming Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Shortly after that meeting, Rice made an unexpected visit to Lebanon. NPR's Jackie Northam is traveling with the secretary and sent this report.
JACKIE NORTHAM reporting:
Condoleezza Rice made her unannounced visit to Lebanon under heavy security. Early this morning, reporters accompanying her in Israel were told by State Department officials that she was going to Beirut, and that they were not to tell anybody anything about the plans. Most of her delegation didn't know about the trip until they were climbing the stairs of the plane. Despite all the efforts to keep the trip quiet, Condoleezza Rice was met by dozens of Lebanese journalists and photographers when she arrived at her first meeting in Beirut.
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NORTHAM: Throughout the day, Rice's convoy raced bumper to bumper through the narrow streets of central Beirut as she went from one meeting to another. She me first with Saad Hariri. He's the son of former prime minister Rafik Hariri whose assassination sparked widespread protest which eventually led to Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon after nearly three decades. Saad Hariri's political coalition was the major winner the Lebanon's parliamentary elections in May and June. During a press conference, Rice said that the elections marked a new era for Lebanon.
Secretary CONDOLEEZZA RICE (State Department): There is a political process that is under way here in Lebanon. It is a process not only of building a new political system, dealing with long-delayed economic reforms, but also the world understands that there is a process of political reconciliation that is under way in Lebanon, and that that is important.
NORTHAM: Rice also met with Fouad Siniora, Lebanon's new prime minister-designate who just named a 24-member Cabinet which includes a member of Hezbollah, the Islamist political and paramilitary organization. That presents a tricky problem for the Bush administration, because Hezbollah is on the United States terrorist watch list, and Rice indicated it wasn't going to be dropped from that list just because it's a member of Lebanon's new government.
Sec. RICE: The fact is, the United States has a long-standing policy toward Hezbollah that has a history to it, that has a history of blood to it, and that has not changed.
NORTHAM: State Department officials state that the United States will continue to make Lebanon understand its views about Hezbollah. But at the same time, the Bush administration doesn't want to be seen as interfering in Lebanon's evolving politics. Still, Rice was vocal about Syria's recent decision to block Lebanese trucks from crossing into Syria, a move that essentially shuts off Lebanon's main overland trade route. State Department officials call the move punitive because of the successful Lebanese push to remove Syrian troops and intelligence agents from the country. But Prime Minister-designate Siniora indicated that Beirut wants to maintain good ties with its neighbor.
Prime Minister-designate FOUAD SINIORA (Lebanon): Syria and Lebanon are neighborly and brotherly countries, and we are very serious about building a very good, respectful and friendly relations, and to enhance all the relations, including economic relations, between the two countries.
NORTHAM: Rice's visit to Lebanon lasted just six hours, then it was back to Jerusalem to prepare for more meetings Saturday with Palestinian and Israeli officials. Jackie Northam, NPR News.
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