NY Times: U.S. policy change regarding Hizbullah

The New York Times reported yesterday that the US has decided on a new course in terms of the way it views and deals with the Hizbullah party in Lebanon in light of the political support it has within the Lebanese people. This is following the massive demonstrations that Hizbullah showed in support of the pro Syrian role in Lebanon.

The New York Times said "The(US) administration's shift was described by American, European and United Nations officials as a reluctant recognition that Hizbullah, besides having a militia and sponsoring attacks on Israelis, is an enormous political force in Lebanon that could block Western efforts to get Syria to withdraw its troops."

The report quoted a diplomat as saying "The administration has an absolute aversion to admitting that Hizbullah has a role to play in Lebanon, but that is the path we're going down."

The report spoke about France blocking the failed US efforts to get Hizbullah named as a terrorist organization by the the European Union. "Now the United States has basically accepted the French view, echoed by others in Europe, that with Hizbullah emerging as such a force in very fractured Lebanon, it is dangerous to antagonize it right now and wiser to encourage the party to run candidates in Lebanese elections," the New York Times quoted the diplomat as saying.