Hizbullah Condemns Statement of American Central Command Candidate Gen. James Mattis

Local Translator

Commenting on the statement of General James Mattis -nominee of the American Central command post- on supporting the Lebanese army as a counterbalance to Hizbullah and Syria, Hizbullah issued the following statement:

Hizbullah condemns the statement of the American General James Mattis, candidate of the American Central Command which aims at stirring internal incitement among the Lebanese and their fellow brothers through situating Hizbullah and Syria in confrontation with Lebanon and the Lebanese.

Hizbullah considers the statements issued by the US administration -which has practiced aggressions against our people- reflect the size of American interference in Lebanese affairs, as well as in Lebanon's relations with its neighbors, particularly the country which Lebanon shares a special fraternal relation with.

Hizbullah reminds the American General that Hizbullah makes up an integral and main constituent of the Lebanese structure, and that the US administration attempts will not succeed in putting the Lebanese in confrontations with each other in service of its interest.

Hizbullah questions who gives the American Central Command the right to program the situation in the region and to determine who are the foes and friends, assuring that Lebanon is neither an American colony nor a military base which Washington controls according to its interests, that are parallel to those of the Zionist enemy.

The stance of the American General is a new part of the American confessions series of which Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman's statements on disfiguring Hizbullah's image in Lebanon is the most outstanding.

Hizbullah categorizes these statements under the US allies in Lebanon and the region, who are trying to justify and legalize the goals of American interference in our affairs.