WikiLeaks: Feltman Said Destroying ‘Maronistan’ Passageways Would Deal a Blow to Embassy
Former U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman reportedly asked Washington to pressure Israel into keeping the Greater Beirut Area intact during the 2006 war with Hizbullah.
In a WikiLeaks cable published by al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday, Feltman said destroying bridges that link Beirut with the Christian heartland which he described as “Maronistan” would isolate Christian towns from each other.
He reportedly said the destruction would bloc roads to former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir’s visitors in his summer residence of Diman, LF leader Samir Geagea’s home in Maarab and would also be a blow to the U.S. embassy in Awkar by preventing its staff, including security personnel, from reaching the mission’s premises.
Feltman warned that any attack on Christian towns or their passageways would help Christians, Sunnis and Hizbullah achieve more unity.
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