New Lebanon President Supports Fight Against Israel

The United States along with most other countries enthusiastically supported the ascent of army Chief of Staff Michel Suleiman as president of Lebanon.

To many, he appears to be a beacon of stability for the country. But don't expect the Maronite Christian to change the country's position on the staunchest of U.S. allies in the Middle East, Israel.

In his inaugural speech to parliament today, he affirmed the right of the Hezbollah-led "resistance" to confront Israel and obtain a disputed piece of property under Israeli occupation called the Shebaa Farms:

The continuing occupation of Shebaa Farms and the breaches and threats by the enemy [Israel] compel us to find a defense strategy that protects the nation coupled with a calm dialog to benefit from the competence of the resistance so that the achievements of the resistance are not consumed in internal struggles. And this way we can preserve its values and its national position.

He also said Lebanon would continue to refuse to grant the 400,000 Palestinians living in Lebanon passports in order to keep alive their dream of returning to a viable Palestinian state:

Our rejection of giving them nationality is not a rejection of hosting of our brothers the Palestinians and caring for their human rights, but an establishment of their right of return when a viable state is formed.

But much of Suleiman's speech was focused on healing the country's recent self-inflicted wounds. Below are more excerpts from a rough, unofficial Los Angeles Times translation:

We would have liked to start our mandate with minutes of joy, but I am sure that our silence will be hailed by the spirits of our martyrs who are close to our God, since it establishes a new promising phase for the children of the nation who are awakening from a sleep, thanks to their awareness and their rejection of killing one another, and thanks to the work of the loyal ones and the brothers for bringing down the sins and wiping out the repercussions.

Today through my constitutional oath, I call on you all, political forces and citizens, to start a new phase with Lebanon and the Lebanese as its headline, and with a commitment to a national project we agree on with a progressive mind that serves the nation and its interests as a priority before our sectarian interests. More