The State Department said Tuesday that it doesn’t want to see a ceasefire in Lebanon and supports the heavy Israeli bombardment of the country to “degrade Hezbollah.”
State Department spokesman Matt Miller was asked about comments from Hezbollah Deputy Sheikh Naim Qassem, who said the group supports efforts by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to reach a ceasefire without mentioning that it must also include a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Now that Hezbollah is on the back foot and is getting battered, suddenly, they’ve changed their tune and want a ceasefire,” Miller told reporters.
Miller claimed the US “ultimately wants a diplomatic solution” but voiced strong support for Israeli military operations, which have killed more than 1,250 people, including over 100 children. “We support Israel’s efforts to degrade Hezbollah’s capability,” he said.
The US is also calling for Lebanon to hold new presidential elections amid the Israeli bombardment. Lebanon hasn’t had a president since 2022, as the many different factions in parliament haven’t agreed to elect one. Hezbollah’s political wing currently holds 15 seats in the nation’s 128-seat parliament.
“What we want to see come out of this situation ultimately is Lebanon able to break the grip Hezbollah has had on the country … break the stranglehold that Hezbollah has had over the country,” Miller said.
The US is still characterizing the Israeli assault on Lebanon as a “limited incursion” despite the massive bombings in Beirut and across the country.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled on Tuesday that more escalations were coming. In a threatening message to the people of Lebanon, he called for them to “free” the country of Hezbollah or they will face “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza.”
Before Israel launched a strike that killed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, the US was calling for a temporary 21-day ceasefire. But the US put no real pressure on Israel to accept the truce since it provided a massive new military aid package as Netanyahu was rejecting the idea of a ceasefire.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said that Nasrallah agreed to a 21-day ceasefire with Israel just days before he was killed and that the US was informed of his decision. The State Department denied that the US was informed Nasrallah accepted the truce, but CNN later reported that a Western source familiar with the negotiations said Hezbollah had agreed to the ceasefire.
There are reports the meeting was a trap to assassinate Nasrallah.
Considering the evil deranged people in Tel Aviv and Washington it is most likely true.
Is anyone surprised? I'm still amazed at how many people still don't get it – that the US is fully and totally behind a wider Middle East war – no matter how many people get killed in the process or what happens to the world economy. The only thing that matters to the US PTB is money, power and hegemony. Period. End of story.
It is the culmination of a 50 year old plan to control the East.
https://scheerpost.com/2024/10/08/michael-hudson-and-richard-wolff-middle-east-exploding-ukraine-crumbling-us-take-action/
US hegemonic rule is in process.
this: https://scheerpost.com/2024/10/08/michael-hudson-and-richard-wolff-middle-east-exploding-ukraine-crumbling-us-take-action/
American warmongers doing what they do.
Lying hypocrites. Two faced .
Speaking From Both Sides of Your Mouth…!
“What we want to see come out of this situation ultimately is the US able to break the grip Israel has had on the country … break the stranglehold that Israel has had over the country,” Miller said.
What he should have said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled on Tuesday that more escalations were coming. In a threatening message to the people of Lebanon, he called for them to “free” the country of Hezbollah or they will face“destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza.”
Once more threatening collective punishment. And it always amazes me that morons like Netanyahu, who claim Hezbollah to be terrorists, think ordinary people can just break free of them but if they don't, they suddenly become fair game. No different than the US' collective punishment of sanctioning countries into economic ruin with the hope of the ordinary citizen being able to overthrow their oppressors. Two nasty peas in a pod.
When Arabs killIsraelis,is that not"collective punishment"?
In combat killing by both sides is the horrid part of war. Have "Arabs" carpet bombed Israel?
Arabs have gone soft with lots of porn, and hashish. The only carpet bomb they know is inviting their cousins over for hookah fun time.
Pretty stupid on your part to open yourself up to the obvious. Even a moronic Israeli firster like yourself can't deny the monumental difference between the number of people killed from each side.
How much is the waterfront worth in Gaza, Lebanon? I guess all those Zionist living in Florida are sick of the hurricanes and need a new place to SQUAT. These Squatters are all lining up to make a claim and of course Trump/Kushner are there with the building plans. The Genocide will spread across Lebanon, Palestine, until the Europeans with the ME, work together to STOP the Zionist. I wish the ME could do it on it's own, but to STOP the USA, we will need some European Nations to help. The EU is collapsing and I see an opportunity for some to break away now and STOP the Genocide.
Ask Jared Kushner.
Ah, so Genocide Joe's government is finally coming out in admitting they are not really interested in any ceasefire. Now, when will the Arab states and Iran realize that all this ceasefire talk is but a ruse, and take out that cancer in Middle-East before it consumes them?
I think of the Minsk Agreements in the Ukraine; we can see what happened there.
Funny how Hez has been plotting to enter Israel and tak hostages,and firing missiles at Israel for decades,but when they get a bit of it back,get some nasty surprises,they cry ceasefire.THey just want to reorganize a bit,and then re-attack.
Funny how Israel has occupied Gaza for decades, planning 50 years ago to kill all Palestinians in order to steal more of their lands. Funny how Israel has reduced Gaza to rubble, intentially killing unarmed civilians, including babies (volunteer doctor, Dr. Perlmutter, MD, who is Jewish, said the in his work in Gaza he held a baby's brain in his hands, the first time ever in his medical career). Funny how Israel does not want a cease fire, and Netanyahu has shown that he does not care about the hostages. It's all so funny, isn't it?
How does bombing civilians degrade Hezbollah?
In other news, relevant to the issue of the war on Lebanon by Israel, Saleh, the head coach of the New York Jets NFL team was fired and physically led from the Jets facility. The factor that got him fired was his wearing a sweatshirt with a Palestinian flag patch on one of the sleaves. That is my guess. He was fired several days after the game in London during which he wore the sweatshirt with the patch. He is Lebanese. A Muslim. His parent immigrated to the U.S.. All the MSM can talk about is Lebanon firing on Israel, ignoring the previous shelling by Israel in 2006, and the destruction and killing in Gaza by Israel.
Early in the year, the NFL encouraged players to display patches to signify their heritage. I guess one has to be of the "correct" heritage in order to not be fired.
Or it might have had to do with his poor record and his plan — which came out a few minutes before his firing — to fire the team’s offensive coordinator, who is part of the “Aaron Rodgers as QB” package. Sometimes football developments are about, you know, football.
The Arabs in that region think that if a small drum stick is thrown in front a rabid jackal, he’ll go away. They never learn….