Pull out your spies from Lebanon, U.S. tells Syria

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DEAD SEA, Jordan (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday Syria must pull out all its intelligence agents from Lebanon, and accused Iran of funnelling "millions of dollars per month" to Hizbollah guerrillas.

"Pulling out military forces is not enough. You have to pull out all your intelligence agents," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick told reporters during a World Economic Forum regional meeting in Jordan.

Under huge world and Lebanese pressure following the February killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, Syria last month pulled its troops from Lebanon, which it entered in the early days of the 1975-1990 civil war.

But Scott Carpenter, deputy assistant secretary of state, said Syria was still meddling in Lebanon despite the pullout.

"We still remain deeply concerned about the level of interference and continued manipulation (by Syria) on the part of the security and intelligence services within Lebanon," Carpenter said.

"We will continue, as the international community, to put pressure to make sure those connections are also withdrawn or suspended," he said.

Syria still meddling in Lebanon after pullout-US

Source: Reuters
By Ibon Villelabeitia

DEAD SEA, Jordan, May 20 (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday Syria was still meddling in Lebanon despite pulling out its troops last month, and accused Iran of funnelling "millions of dollars per month" to Hizbollah guerrillas.

"We still remain deeply concerned about the level of interference and continued manipulation (by Syria) on the part of the security and intelligence services within Lebanon," said Scott Carpenter, deputy assistant secretary of state.

"We will continue, as the international community, to put pressure to make sure those connections are also withdrawn or suspended," Carpenter said.

Carpenter, speaking during a World Economic Forum regional meeting in Jordan, made his remarks as Lebanon prepares to hold parliamentary elections starting on May 29, the first in 33 years without Syrian troops present in the country.

Aoun: Lebanon political class corrupt

By ZEINA KARAM

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The Lebanese general who fought the Syrian army in the 1980s sharply criticized the anti-Syrian opposition Thursday and warned that upcoming elections could return to Parliament the same politicians that long followed the lead of Damascus.

Gen. Michel Aoun came back to Lebanon nearly two weeks ago after 14 years in exile in the wake of Syria's military withdrawal, hailed by his supporters and vowing to use his stature to help build a broad opposition alliance. But opposition figures have been putting together their own election deals that leave him out in the cold.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Aoun called the entire political class corrupt, accusing opposition politicians of betraying their popular base and of coming only recently to their anti-Syrian stances.

"This is an old habit. They (politicians) are looking for their own interests ... there is a big difference between the people's wishes and the interest of the political class," he said.

U.S. report praises Lebanon's investment climate but slams bureaucracy

By Will Rasmussen

BEIRUT: A report by the U.S. Commerce Department praised Lebanon's liberal economy and attractive investment climate but slammed the country's excessive bureaucracy. The 2005 Country Commercial Guide for Lebanon listed red tape and corruption, arbitrary licensing decisions, complex customs procedures, an ineffectual judicial system, and lack of adequate protection for intellectual property as main impediments for attracting foreign investment.

"Some foreign companies have left the market or relocated their regional offices to neighboring countries, or refrained from investing in Lebanon at all, because of frustration resulting from these impediments," the report read.

Yet the U.S. Commerce Department, which is charged with promoting economic growth, praised Lebanon's "free market, highly dollarized economy, the absence of controls on the movement of capital and foreign exchange, a highly educated labor force, good quality of life and limited restrictions on investors."

Lebanon's potential for growth in the IT sector, according to the report, is strong.