The diplomat, who spoke to Naharnet on condition he not be further identified, said "U.S. efforts alone are not enough to prevent war, especially if not accompanied by Lebanese efforts to defuse the explosive situation and avert giving Israel a pretext to launch a new war."
"Wars are caused by those who provide pretexts and justifications for them," the senior diplomat explained.
He insisted that the United States would not go into a "deal" with Syria over Lebanon.
"Lebanon's independence is part of any possible American-Syrian agreement in the future. You can say there would be no U.S.-Syrian agreement prior to a full agreement between Lebanon and Syria and the implementation of all international resolutions on Lebanon," he stressed.
Senior American diplomats believe maintaining the present situation in Lebanon is tantamount to assembling detonation fuses so that any spark could unleash military confrontations that might not be restricted to the southern arena.
U.S. State Department officials say the situation on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, Hezbollah activities and the non-implementation of all the clauses of UNSCR 1701 as well as other international resolutions in addition to the persisting smuggling of weapons from Syria to Hezbollah complicate U.S. efforts to prevent an Israeli war.
They said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman ( pictured) made a recent visit to Israel during which he exerted pressure on the Jewish state to speed up withdrawal from the northern sector of the Ghajar village and to turn over to U.N. guardianship the Shebaa Farms pending demarcation of the region.
American diplomats appear confident that full implementation of UNSCR 1701 by Lebanon could lead to halting Israeli penetration of Lebanon's sovereignty, the withdrawal from Ghajar and Shebaa Farms.
The senior U.S. diplomat said Lebanon's forthcoming elections, scheduled for May 2009, should be held in line with Lebanon's "political system and international law."
He warned, however, that "any attempt to manipulate the elections to place Lebanon with those working against the international community and Washington's Middle East policy would pose a threat to global security, to the U.S. policy and to vital American interests."
"The United States would not tolerate that and it would not be interfering in Lebanon's domestic affairs, but rather safeguarding its regional interests," the official noted.
Tags: Hezbollah, Lebanon, source: Naharnet, syria, Ya Libnan
