MP Haidar: The US mission did not end with the departure of the USS Cole

Source: NowLebanon.com, 06-03-2008
MP Mohammed Haidar of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc said that the US mission in the region did not end with the departure of the USS Cole.
The USS Cole, which was sitting off the Lebanese coast since the beginning of March, sailed toward the Gulf on Wednesday.
"This move is a reinforcement of their campaign to terrorize and pressure Syria, Lebanon and Palestine," Haidar said.
"If this campaign is being put on hold in Palestine, it is to facilitate US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the region," he added.
He also condemned some parties' reaction to the arrival of the Cole, as they saw it as support for the election of a president before the Arab Summit and for imposing conditions related to the national-unity government on the opposition.