Disagreements prevail as Obama meets Lebanese president

Rasha Hassan, 15-12-2009

U.S. President Barack Obama for the first time has met Lebanese President Michel Suleiman in the Oval Office at the White House. The discussions on national and regional issues seem to reveal that the two presidents disagree on all issues in substance and form.

Following their meeting they held a joint press conference during which The US president urged Sleiman to "put an end to the smuggling of weapons into Lebanon" because this "represents a potential threat to "Israel"" whereas the Lebanese president called on his US counterpart to press "Israel" to comply with UN Resolution 1701 and to withdraw from the occupied Lebanese territories namely the village of Ghajar, Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba Hills.

Obama added that the U.S. and Lebanon may not always agree on issues involving "Israel", but both nations share "a commitment to resolve these issues through dialogue and negotiations, as opposed to through violence."

"And that is consistent with the democratic traditions of Lebanon. That's consistent with what we believe is in the interests of both Lebanon as well as the other countries in the region," he continued.

Obama said Lebanon is a "critical country in a critical region." He said "issues of Middle East peace are linked to the issues that exist inside Lebanon."

"And we are going to continue to be promoting those processes that bring parties together, even though there are going to be some strong disagreements with respect to what the terms, for example, of a final peace between "Israel" and the Palestinians may be. And I'm confident that we can arrive at those -- such an agreement as long as all the parties are entering into it in good faith," Obama concluded.

On his part, president Sleiman said that he asked for US military aid because this "will strengthen Lebanon militarily and will allow it to confront terrorism and to defend itself against its enemies". He also pressed for economic aid and for political support and to make sure no deal is struck at Lebanon's expense.

Suleiman brought up the issue of Palestinian refugees, saying Obama's gaining of the Nobel Peace Prize would inspire the international community to "find a peaceful solution that would return the rights of the people of Palestine, and that would ensure withdrawal and grant Palestinian refugees the right to return."

Suleiman also emphasized Lebanon's opposition to naturalization of the Palestinians living in Lebanon.

The decisive factors of U.S. policy toward Lebanon are deeply intertwined with U.S. Policy considerations at the global, regional, and bilateral levels especially US relation with "Israel". The thread of American-Lebanese relations must be traced amidst the thick web of interconnecting policies and ties of which Lebanon is an element.