Former Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh has reportedly told ex-U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman that he was ready to mediate between the diplomat and Hizbullah.
However, Feltman rejected the offer saying “we don’t send messages to Hizbullah” which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.
Full StoryMP Marwan Hamadeh stressed the importance of money in confronting Hizbullah’s growing influence in Lebanon, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday.
The August 2006 WikiLeaks cable spoke of a meeting between Hamadeh, then MP Nayla Mouawad, and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman during which they hoped that the American administration would pressure Arab gulf states to transfer political funds to the March 14 camp to confront Hizbullah.
Full StoryA leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday revealed that then Prime Minister Fouad Saniora had rejected a transfer of 500 and 300 million dollars to Lebanon aimed at rebuilding the country after the July 2006 war.
The WikiLeaks cable spoke of a meeting between Saniora and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman on August 18, 2006, during which the former explained that he rejected the aid money from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait “because he didn’t want the money to go to Speaker Nabih Berri’s pocket.”
Full StoryAn Israeli official had requested in 2008 that the United States directly support the March 14 camp instead of the Lebanese state out of fears that Hizbullah may take over the cabinet, said a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday.
Nimrod Barkan, then head of Israel’s Foreign Ministry Center for Policy Research, made his statements during a meeting with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman in Israel.
Full StoryA leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar on Friday revealed that then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman had presented the American administration with a list of suggestions for reconstructing Lebanon after the July 2006 war.
According to the WikiLeaks cable, dated August 14, 2006, the ambassador said that despite the ceasefire between Hizbullah and Israel, the situation could easily spiral out of control should either of them cross any red lines, which would discourage countries from sending troops to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
Full StoryDefense Minister Elias Murr stressed that the Lebanese army cannot properly establish itself in the South alongside Hizbullah’s armed presence, reported a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar on Friday.
He added that the army’s position in the South should be bolstered “as soon as possible” in order to destroy Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s “rude and arrogant” rhetoric displayed during his August 14, 2006 speech, said the WikiLeaks cable dated August 15, 2006.
Full StoryFormer Premier Fouad Saniora reportedly said after the 2006 war that he feared Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah would topple the government.
In a WikiLeaks cable dated August 16, 2006, Saniora told then U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman that he was making every effort to deploy the Lebanese army as quick as possible in the south.
Full StoryCaretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri has reportedly told former U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman that he would abolish Hizbullah once the Lebanese army is consolidated.
In a WikiLeaks cable published by al-Akhbar daily on Monday, Hariri told Feltman during a meeting in Qoreitem on August 20, 2006 that as long as the army is weaker than Hizbullah, then it should be in a less threatening position.
Full StoryA leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar Wednesday revealed that Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalifeh had informed then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman that House Speaker Nabih Berri was disputed with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
The WikiLeaks cable dated August 19, 2006, reported Khalifeh as saying that Nasrallah believes himself to be “greater than Salaheddine and all of us.”
Full StorySpeaker Nabih Berri believed that liberating the Shabaa Farms would eliminate the reasons for maintaining the Resistance, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar Wednesday.
A WikiLeaks cable dated July 25, 2006, reported on a meeting between the speaker and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman during which Berri voiced his opposition to Hizbullah’s disarmament if the Shabaa Farms remained occupied.
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