U.S., France Harden Stance Against Lebanon, Syria for Defying 1559

The United States and France were reported Tuesday to have hardened their stance about the joint defiance by Lebanon and Syria of U.N. resolution 1559 that demands a timetabled Syrian military pullout and a timetabled disarmament of Hizbullah by Lebanese authorities. The U.S. and French ambassadors to the United Nations canceled a scheduled conference of experts from the 15-member-states of the Security Council in New York Monday to iron out differences about the way with which to deal with the defiance, Several Beirut newspapers reported on Tuesday. Instead, the U.S. and France launched a joint new effort to convene a full-fledged consultations session at an ambassadorial level on Tuesday or Wednesday to decide whether to release a unanimous chairmanship statement or go for a new resolution tougher than 1559, which needs only a majority of 9 votes. The 6 member-states who opposed 1559 early in the month are still angling for the omission of Syria's name from a chairmanship statement in connection with the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon, but the Bush administration and President Chirac insist on singling Syria out for leaving Lebanon. The Beirut government has told the U.N. that it would not accept any form of international mechanism to monitor a disarmament of Hizbullah, while Washington and Paris are getting more uncompromising about a monitoring system under which the U.N. would be reporting by-monthly on the process, according to the Beirut media.

Beirut, Updated 12 Oct 04, 11:19