The United States encourages the international community to counter Hezbollah’s terrorist activity and expose its deepening involvement in Syria.
The horrifying situation in Syria is getting worse, said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice. “Escalating violence, driven by the [Bashar] al-Assad regime, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions of Syrians.” Together with its allies, the U.S. is “supporting the opposition as it moves toward an inclusive, democratic transition.”
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The Future Does Not Belong To Assad
Assad’s merciless assault upon the Syrian people has not cowed them into submission, far from it. The opposition is getting stronger, and parts of Syria have slipped from the regime’s control. In these areas, Syrian citizens are banding together to administer towns, reopen schools, and rebuild their economy.
And the United States is helping them do so, providing the unarmed civilian opposition with training and non-lethal equipment to build the opposition’s capacity to provide an orderly Syrian-led political transition and to minimize inter-communal violence.
More than one and a half million people have fled their homes, either to neighboring countries or to safer places within Syria. As refugee numbers climb, the U.S. commends Syria’s neighbors – including Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq – for their generosity and recognizes their need for additional support. The United States has committed over $130 million in food, medical supplies, and other life-saving assistance.
Assad’s war against the Syrian people now poses real challenges to all of Syria’s neighbors, including Lebanon. Hezbollah’s active and growing support for Assad’s war exposes Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s claims of promoting Lebanon’s national interest as nothing more than a deadly form of deception. The truth is plain to see: Nasrallah’s fighters are now part of Assad’s killing machine and Hezbollah leaders continue to plot with Iran new measures to prop up a murderous and desperate dictator.
The United States encourages the international community to counter Hezbollah’s terrorist activity and do more to expose its deepening involvement in Assad’s war. The U.S. commends the Lebanese government for maintaining stability and law and order, and reiterates its commitment to a stable, sovereign, and independent Lebanon.
“The future does not belong to a dictator who massacres his people,” said President Barack Obama. The regime of Bashar al-Assad must come to an end.
