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Lebanon's leader lashes out at West

He says Israel must compensate civilians for 'unimaginable losses' and fears his government could fall

BY MOHAMAD BAZZI | Newsday Middle East Correspondent

July 21, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A week after Hezbollah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers provoked a war that Lebanese leaders are powerless to stop, the government here has finally started to speak out.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora called Western ambassadors to his office earlier this week and lectured them on the impact of Israel's offensive. He showed the diplomats photos of the death and destruction throughout Lebanon. In a blunt and undiplomatic speech, Saniora said Lebanon "has been torn to shreds" and vowed to seek compensation from Israel for the "unimaginable losses."

Saniora is a U.S. ally who came to power last year after the first Lebanese elections in three decades held without Syrian interference. In April 2005, thousands of Syrian troops were forced to withdraw from Lebanon under international pressure and public protests, which followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

But on Wednesday, Saniora severely criticized the West for abandoning Lebanon - after holding it up as a model of democracy in the Middle East. "Only last year, the Lebanese filled the streets with hope and with red, green and white banners shouting out: Lebanon deserves life," he said. "What kind of life is being offered to us now? I will tell you what kind: a life of destruction, despair, displacement, dispossession and death."

As Saniora spoke, U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman sat stoically in the front row. The Lebanese leader's criticism was clearly meant for the Bush administration, which so far has not applied pressure on Israel to end its offensive.

Saniora hinted his cabinet might collapse if the world community does not intervene. "No government can survive on the ruins of a nation," he said.

After Hezbollah abducted the soldiers on July 12 in a cross-border raid, Israel launched its most intense attack on Lebanon in 24 years. The offensive has killed more than 300 people, nearly all civilians, and crippled the country's infrastructure, destroying dozens of roads and bridges. Israel has also tried to choke off Lebanon, imposing a naval blockade and bombing Beirut's international airport.

The Lebanese government - which includes two ministers from Hezbollah - quickly announced that it did not know about plans to abduct the soldiers, and did not condone the militia's actions. As soon as the fighting started, Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah began acting as the virtual head of state. In a July 14 speech on national television, he practically declared war on Israel.

With his speech to diplomats, Saniora tried to reclaim his voice. Lebanese officials say Saniora has been negotiating behind the scenes ever since the crisis began. But many Lebanese criticized him for his public absence.

In an interview with an Italian newspaper published yesterday, Saniora broadened his criticism to include Hezbollah. He said the Shia Muslim group had created a "state within a state" and it had to be disarmed. "The entire world must help us disarm Hezbollah," he said. "But first we need to reach a cease-fire."

Lebanese officials say Saniora cannot try to disarm Hezbollah or deploy Lebanese troops along the southern border with Israel while the bombing continues.

"Definitely, things after the ceasefire will not be the same as before the ceasefire," said Mohammad Kabbani, a member of the Lebanese parliament who is allied with Saniora. "We must reach an agreement that any decision of war or peace must be made by the government and not an individual group."

BORDER FIGHTING

Israeli troops cross into Lebanon for a second straight day to seek tunnels and weapons, meeting fierce resistance from Hezbollah guerillas. A large, nighttime battle on the Lebanese side of the border at Maroun al-Ras leaves several Hezbollah operatives and two Israeli soldiers dead, the Israeli military says.

Israel warns residents to "immediately" flee a nearly 20-mile swath of south Lebanon along the border, hinting at a full-scale invasion to create a 20-mile buffer zone.

Meanwhile it launches new airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Hezbollah guerrillas fire 25 more rockets into Israel.

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces kill three people including a 10-year-old girl and a Palestinian militant.

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He says Israel must compensate civilians for 'unimaginable losses' and fears his government could fall

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