US sends warship off Lebanese coast

Friday 29 February 2008

Deeply concerned about Lebanon's political strife, the United States on Thursday sped its USS Cole warship there in what officials described as a signal aimed at bolstering regional stability.

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Signaling impatience with
Syria, the United States has sent its USS Cole warship off the
coast of Lebanon in a show of support amid Beirut's political
crisis, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
 

Officials said the Bush administration was concerned about
political deadlock in Lebanon, which Washington blames on
Syrian meddling, and the move underlined that worry.
 

"The presence is important. It isn't meant to send any
stronger signals than that but in fact it does signal that
we're engaged, we're going to be in the vicinity," said Adm.
Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
 

Mullen said the decision was not aimed only at Syria but at
the region as whole.
 

"That's a very, very important part of the world and
stability there as well as in the broader Middle East is an
important outcome for us," he told reporters at the Pentagon.
 

A U.S. defense official said the Cole, a destroyer, left
Malta on Tuesday heading toward Lebanon, adding it would not be
within visible range of Lebanon but "well over the horizon."
 

A couple of U.S. Navy refueling ships were also in the
area, the official said.
 

Lebanon's Western-backed governing coalition and its Syrian
and Iranian backed opposition have failed to reach a deal to
end the country's political conflict.
 

"The United States believes a show of support is important
for regional stability," said a senior Bush administration
official, who spoke on condition he was not identified.
 

"We are very concerned about the situation in Lebanon. It
has dragged on very long."
 

The Cole was attacked off the coast of Yemen in October
2000 by al Qaeda militants. Seventeen U.S. sailors were
killed.
 

Mullen said a group of ships will operate in the eastern
Mediterranean "for a while."
 

The Lebanese government had no immediate comment.
 

But Hezbollah ally and Christian opposition leader Michel
Aoun said the United States sent the Cole to display its
deterrence capability and he was not worried about the action.
 

OTHER SHIP EN ROUTE
 

Two U.S. defense officials said the Cole could be replaced
by the USS Nassau, an amphibious assault ship on a course for
the Mediterranean. Such ships can transport U.S. Marines but
there are no Marines on the Nassau, one official said.
 

A third defense official noted the Nassau was accompanied
by other vessels as part of an expeditionary strike group and
suggested some of them may be more likely to relieve the Cole.
 

The presidential election in Lebanon was postponed again
this week to March 11 from Feb. 26, the 15th such delay, after
rival leaders failed to reach a deal.
 

The deadlock has threatened to degenerate into sectarian
violence and continues to poison inter-Arab relations in the
run-up to an Arab League summit in Syria next month.
 

"The Arab League is engaged but it has not been successful.
In those set of circumstances we think a show of support for
regional stability and regional solutions is important," said
the senior Bush administration official.
 

Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally which supports the
pro-Western coalition, has also voiced concern over events in
Lebanon and discussed the issue with President George W. Bush
last month during his visit to Saudi Arabia.
 

Bush ordered the move earlier this week as a sign of
concern over Lebanon and consulted U.S. allies such as France
and Britain about it as well as those in the Middle East.
 

Bush administration officials declined to say whether the
decision was taken partly because of Saudi pressure.
 

"The president is concerned about the situation in Lebanon
and discusses the issue regularly with his national security
team," said National Security Council spokesman Gordon
Johndroe.
 

The United States has increased pressure on Syria in recent
weeks, targeting more individuals with sanctions.
 

The U.S. Treasury froze assets of four Syrians on Thursday,
saying they facilitated the flow of money, weapons and
terrorists through Syria to al Qaeda in Iraq.