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The United States along with most other countries enthusiastically supported the ascent of army Chief of Staff Michel Suleiman as president of Lebanon.
To many, he appears to be a beacon of stability for the country. But don’t expect the Maronite Christian to change the country’s position on the staunchest of U.S. allies in the Middle East,
Israel.
In his inaugural speech to parliament today, he affirmed the right of the Hezbollah-led ‘resistance’ to confront Israel and obtain a disputed piece of property under Israeli occupation
called the Shebaa Farms:
He also said Lebanon would continue to refuse to grant the 400,000 Palestinians living in Lebanon passports in order to keep alive their dream of returning to a viable Palestinian state:
But much of Suleiman’s speech was focused on healing the country’s recent self-inflicted wounds. Below are more excerpts from a rough, unofficial Los Angeles Times translation:
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