Aoun's position was transmitted Thursday to a visiting delegation from the National Council for Information.

"The General considers that the closest to him in Lebanon is Hezbollah, especially in the matters of reform, mass graves and internal issues," said Abdel-Hadi Mahfouz, who heads the national media outfit.

Aoun, who spent 15 years in exile for opposing Syrian domination, was a major player in the coalition that drove Damascus' troops out of Lebanon last April. However, during the campaign for parliamentary elections in June, he forged an alliance with pro-Syrian politicians.

Since his return to Lebanon, Aoun has adopted political and administrative reform as his party's national agenda. He blames politicians who led the country in his absence for encouraging corruption under Syrian protection.

"He (Aoun) considers the (present) government to be an extension of the past 15 years without the presence of Rustom Ghazaleh to solve problems," said Mahfouz.

Ghazaleh was Syria's top intelligence officer in Lebanon. Since Syria's exit from the neighboring country, politicians have been outspoken about his abrasive style and intimidation tactics.

Hezbollah holds similar views on reform and corruption as Aoun. The two groups also claim that the mass murders during 1975-1990 civil war were committed by other politicians.

The anti Syrian politicians have been trying to have a dialogue with general Aoun to bring him back to the March 14 alliance of the Cedar Revolution. It seems that Aoun has already made up his mind and decided to join the pro- Syrian alliance instead.

Some observers think that this could hurt Aoun's chances for the presidency, since the president has to be elected by the parliament. Saad Hariri and his allies currently are the majority; they control 72 out of the 128 seats. This is why Aoun has been calling for new elections, but this has never happened in the Lebanese history... once elected the parliament serves at least its full term of 4 years.

Many observers still believe that Aoun belongs with the March 14 group and what is happening right now is just a passing cloud. These observers think that Aoun is committed to UN resolution 1959 ... he personally lobbied for it in Washington, DC...and took full credit for it. This resolution calls for disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon...including Hezbollah.

Picture: General Aoun
Source: Ya Libnan and local media