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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (103533)	3/7/2005 9:51:36 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793933

EU Attitudes Toward Hezbollah Changing americanfuture.typepad.com By Marc Schulman on Terrorism Are the blind beginning to see the light? It was only yesterday that Hezbollah announced that it was backing the Syrian government. Today, the UK's Independent reports that there are "signs that Britain and the EU may impose new proscriptions on the Iranian-backed Lebanese guerrilla group." news.independent.co.uk In Britain, a Foreign Office minister has told Israel's Foreign Minister, Sylvan Shalom, that the UK is "actively considering" extending its current proscription of the organisation's military wing to cover its political wing. This policy change would be based on "increasing evidence" that Hezbollah has a single leadership responsible for both its military and political wings. European diplomats said that French opposition to taking action against Hezbollah has softened. While I'd like to engage in a post hoc ergo propter hoc (give me a break: it's the only Latin phrase I know) argument, I can't. This "active consideration" must have begun well before Hezbollah again showed its true colors. Let's connect some dots: The facts * The EU3 is using economic incentives bribery to persuade Iran not to build the Bomb. * The EU3 wants to get the US directly involved in the negotiations. * There are recurring reports that the US is reconsidering its hardline stance against talking directly with the Iranian government. * The Iranians, who claim that they are against terrorism, are the primary supporters of Hezbollah. The hypothesis * The credibility of the Iranian denial will suffer if the EU declares that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. * The US will agree to direct negotiations if the Iranians agree to stop supporting Hezbollah. * If the Iranians refuse, the hardline position of the Bush administration will stand on firmer political ground. If the EU countries ban Hezbollah, it's a big deal. During the October 2002 Senate hearings on Iraq, former Senator Bob Graham of Florida introduced an amendment that would have authorized the President to take action against Hezbollah, and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage referred to it as "the A-team of international terrorists."