THE UNITED STATES COMMITTEE FOR A FREE LEBANON

This is a 'committee' made up of Lebanese and Americans whose goal is to get Syria out of Lebanon. Some of the 'Golden Circle' who run the USCFL are also members of the Project for a New American Century. On 18th March 2002 the USCFL wrote an open letter to Bush, Powell and Rice, congratulating them on their approach to the Middle East. The letter is available to read online at http://www.freelebanon.org/actions/default.htm . The section directed at Rice, who was then National Security Advisor but is now Secretary of State, reads thus;

Honorable Condoleeza Rice:

We applaud you for your firm stand regarding Hizballah and strongly share your point of view regarding the latter.

Hizballah is in fact a well financed, organized and led terrorist group. It seems it has written the book on how to be a terrorist network for other terror networks throughout the world. This is partly due to the fact that it has risen to such a prominent stature being backed by two major national governments Iran and Syria, and is now part of the current Lebanese government that is making regional and national policy.

Having stated the obvious, we urge you to do everything in your power to put an end to Hizballah's military infrastructure in Lebanon.

Please do not count on the Lebanese government to give you any helping hand in the process. We all know that Lebanon today maybe the only nation in the world that is totally occupied, its government a tool in the hands of the Syrian intelligence services, its parliament appointed and not elected, its legal system festering with bribery and corruption, its democracy ceding to autocracy, its economy in debt and beyond all means of repayment and the majority of its population living on the verge of poverty.

Time has never been more appropriate however, to rescue the Lebanese government from Hizballah, the Syrian military and intelligence infrastructure and help restoring what was the "Paris of the Middle East". Lebanese people have much to offer to America and the West once they are in full control of their destiny.

All this may sound idealistic, given the American turn inward; and that during the past twenty five years, three states (France, the United States, and Israel) have tried to stand up to Syrian rule in Lebanon, and all three failed. But Syria now lacks a real patron, American influence is stronger than ever, and economic dynamics are growing in importance. By taking a firm stand on this small but crucial issue, the U.S government could well get a process started that eventually leads to the resurrection of an independent Lebanon, with benefits for that country, the region, and for the United States itself.

Some of the signatories of that letter also signed the PNAC letter to Bush dated 20th September 2001 suggesting that Hizb Allah was the key to get at Syria and Iran. Among them are Richard 'Prince of Darkness' Perle and Frank Gaffney. Perle, now a Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, recently wrote an article available at http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.24691/pub_detail.asp entitled Why Did Bush Blink on Iran? (Ask Condi) which questioned why Bush and Rice caved into the doves on Iran's nuclear ambitions.

But still, here is a letter from two core members of PNAC asking Rice to "do everything in your power to put an end to Hizballah's military infrastructure in Lebanon". Is this why Rice is reluctant to call for an immediate ceasefire?