Bush says Hezbollah must 'prove' it's not terrorist


AFP
 Date: 03-15-05

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush said that Hezbollah could "prove" it is not a terrorist group by disarming and not challenging the Middle East peace process.

Asked whether he supported a political role for Hezbollah in Lebanon, Bush replied: "We view Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, and I would hope that Hezbollah would prove that they're not by laying down arms and not threatening peace."

Bush's comments came as he met in his Oval Office with Jordan's King Abdullah II to discuss Iraq, democratic reforms in the Middle East and efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"One of our concerns, which his majesty and I discussed, is that Hezbollah may try to derail the peace process between Israeli and the Palestinians," said the US president.

"And it's very important that this peace process go forward, for the sake of the Palestinians, for the sake if the Israelis, and for the sake of all the people in the region," said Bush.

"Hezbollah has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States because of terrorist activities in the past," said the president.

The United States has been at the forefront of calls for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. But Hezbollah showed its political weight last week by organizing a demonstration by about 500,000 people in Beirut backing Syria.

Source

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.


Home