MOSUL TIME RADIO
Reuters reported that the United States of America has backed away from pushing for an “immediate ceasefire” in Lebanon, and has settled on an Israeli attack that would end years of Hezbollah dominance and pave the way for the election of a new Lebanese president .
A new report by Reuters stated that “this approach seems serious to the United States, citing the words of US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in a press conference a few days ago when he said: “We support Israel in launching these attacks with the aim of destroying Hezbollah’s infrastructure so that we can ultimately reach a diplomatic solution .”
He stated that America, after weeks of intensive diplomacy aimed at achieving a ceasefire, settled on a completely different approach based on letting the conflict in Lebanon take its course .
He also pointed out that this change in course reflects the conflict in American goals represented in containing the growing conflict in the Middle East, while at the same time significantly weakening Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran .
He also referred to what John Alterman, a former official at the US State Department, said, that the United States wants the Israeli campaign to weaken Hezbollah’s capabilities, but it must balance that with the possibility of creating a vacuum in Lebanon or igniting a regional war .
He added that Washington’s approach seems to be as follows: “If you cannot change the Israeli approach, it is better to try to direct it in a constructive way .”
Two weeks ago , America and France called for an immediate ceasefire for 21 days to prevent an Israeli invasion of Lebanon, but these efforts were hampered by Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, the start of Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon on October 1, and Israeli air strikes that targeted Hezbollah leaders in the heart of Beirut .
The United States and Israel would certainly benefit from defeating a common enemy, Hezbollah, which Tehran uses to threaten Israel’s northern border, although encouraging an expanded Israeli military campaign risks spiraling out of control, according to Reuters .
The US-French initiative relied on key Lebanese leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is a key conduit for Hezbollah in ceasefire negotiations, according to diplomats familiar with the discussions .
It is noteworthy that since the end of the term of former Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who was allied with the party, at the end of 2022, Parliament has not been able to meet to elect a new president, due to political differences between the parties dominating the scene in the country, led by Hezbollah.
