AP: Hezbollah Seeks More Power in Lebanon

[Eugene]

Hezbollah Seeks More Power in Lebanon

By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
The Associated Press
Friday, December 15, 2006; 6:37 PM

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Hezbollah is pushing for more power in a new Lebanese Cabinet
partly to avoid being disarmed by any future government, a senior official in the
guerrilla group said Friday.

The remarks by Mahmoud Komati, deputy head of Hezbollah's political bureau, were
the first time the Shiite Muslim group has publicly acknowledged a direct link
between weapons possession and its drive for more power.

Hezbollah's disarmament is a top demand of the United States and Israel. The U.N.
cease-fire resolution that ended the Hezbollah-Israel war in August also calls for the
group's eventual disarmament.

The Shiite group, backed by Syria and its allies in the Lebanese government, insists it
will lay down its arms only when Lebanon has a strong enough government and army
to defend its borders with Israel.

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Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/15/AR2006121501504.html