Qassem: US waging `covert war` on Hizbullah

Qassem: US waging `covert war` on Hizbullah
Party`s deputy leader accuses siniora`s government of collaborating
Source: Daily Star, 12-4-2007
The US government is waging a "covert war" against Hizbullah by arming militias opposed to the group, the party`s number two claimed in comments published on Wednesday.
In an interview with Britain`s The Guardian, which took place in a safe house in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Sheikh Naim Qassem also accused Washington for thwarting attempts between the Lebanese government and the opposition to reach a settlement to the crisis that has deadlocked Beirut.
"America is forcing the government forces to prolong this crisis, because they want a price for it," Qassem told the British daily. "They want to tie Lebanon into negotiations that benefit "Israel" and their plan for a new Middle East.
US Vice President "Dick Cheney has given orders for a covert war against Hizbullah," Qassem was quoted as saying.
"There is now an American program that is using Lebanon to further its goals in the region."
The British daily cited published reports saying that US intelligence agencies have been authorized to provide "non-lethal" funding to anti-Hizbullah groups in Lebanon and to activists who support the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
However, Qassem accused Siniora`s government of going even further and arming militias across Lebanon.
"This happens with the knowledge of the prime minister and is facilitated by the security forces under his command," Qassem was quoted as saying.
Qassem`s statements echo a report by American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published in late February. Hersh examined the connection between the US, Siniora`s government and Lebanese Sunni extremist groups in orchestrating a "redirection" of US Middle East policy toward countering the Iranian threat, as opposed to fighting the threat posed by Sunni extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda.
According to the article published in the Guardian, the US has earmarked some $60 million to bolster the Lebanese Interior Ministry`s Internal Security Force, which Qassem described as increasingly biased against Hizbullah.
"The Internal Security Forces have not succeeded in playing a balanced role ... The sectarian issue is very delicate when it comes to the security services," Qassem said.
Qassem also said Hizbullah did not rule out a new confrontation with "Israel" this summer like the 34-day war last July and August that killed more than 1,100 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 150 "Israelis", mostly soldiers.
"We are prepared for the possibility of another adventure or the demand of American policy that might push the ["Israeli" government] in that direction," he said.