Middle East Digest: April 4, 2008

Bureau of Public Affairs
April 4, 2008

The Middle East Digest provides text and audio from the Daily Press Briefing. For the full briefings, please visit http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/.

From the Daily Press Briefing of April 4, 2008:

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MR. CASEY: Yeah. Let’s go – Samir.

QUESTION: Yes. Yesterday talked about – asked about the announcement of the – by the Lebanese General – the General of the Lebanese Army that he will intend to quit.

MR. CASEY: Yeah.

QUESTION: Did you assess what impact will – this will have on the crisis in Lebanon, because the government may not be able to replace him and – because of the crisis?

MR. CASEY: Yeah. Well, I mean, first of all, Samir, this is an issue that is part of the Lebanese political process and the Lebanese system. Most importantly, though, I think what we want to see happen, as I said yesterday is that there be a conclusion to the process of selecting a new president for Lebanon. And we continue to reject those who are trying to continue to interfere in that process and prevent the Syrian people from being able to move forward. We do, though, whether, despite these possible resignations, believe and remain confident that the government of Prime Minister Siniora has the ability and can manage the affairs of state in Lebanon and that the Lebanese Armed Forces are going to continue to provide security and fulfill their job. But I think what you can see here is yet another sign of the frustration that many in Lebanon, both in the leadership, as well as the population at large, feel about the inability to move forward in this process.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. CASEY: Yeah, Michel.

QUESTION: Tom, do you have a readout for – at the meeting between Deputy Secretary Negroponte and his Libyan counterpart?

MR. CASEY: Well, we did – they did have, and I think some of you were up there for a brief little photo opportunity between the Deputy Secretary and his Libyan counterpart. As you know, one of the things that they did today was exchange diplomatic notes that bring into force the U.S.-Libya Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in January. This is the first official bilateral agreement signed between the two countries since we reestablished relations in 2004, so I guess, in that sense, has some significance to it.

I should note, though, that the Deputy did also take the opportunity to talk more broadly with his counterpart about U.S.-Libyan relations, both about the progress made and the positive aspects of that, as well as some of our concerns about issues within the country, including some of the human rights and democracy concerns that, you know, we’ve talked about before. That does include a reiteration of something we made a public statement about the other day, which was our desire and call for the Libyan Government to release Fathi el-Jahmi, who is a prominent Libyan activist who continues to be held by Libyan authorities. And we would view his release as an important demonstration of Libya’s commitment to improving its human rights record. And the Deputy made those points in his meeting today.

QUESTION: Have you got any promise from him regarding el-Jahmi?

MR. CASEY: Well, I’ll let the Libyans talk about their side of the conversation and their reaction to it, but again, I would reiterate what we’ve said now publicly and privately to the Libyan Government. I think it’s very important that he be released and that this would be, again, a demonstration that the Libyan Government is seriously committed to improving its human rights record.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) compensation claims? You mentioned that?

MR. CASEY: I think we talked about a number of bilateral issues. I don’t have a very detailed readout of his conversations, but I am sure that he also addressed those issues. They are part of our bilateral relationship and an important one. And in all our conversations with Libyan officials, we always emphasize our desire to see those claims resolved as one of the things that will help foster and improve the climate of relations between our two countries.

So, I think the long and the short is we’ve come quite a long way in our relations with Libya, since the decision that was made in 2004 to give up their WMD programs. We have made tremendous progress there and you do see now a U.S. Embassy in Libya. You see a removal of the sanctions, both by the UN and bilaterally. You’ve seen increased investment and engagement from the U.S. private sector and others there. But that does not mean that there are not still a number of important, outstanding issues and those are the kinds of things that we talk about now as we do have a bilateral dialogue with the Libyans.

Yeah, Michel.

QUESTION: Tom, Muqtada Sadr has decided to move the one million demonstration from Najaf to Baghdad on April 9^th to protest or condemn what he’s called the American occupation. Do you have any comment?

MR. CASEY: Well, first of all, I think it’s a remarkable thing that people who are opposed to policies of the Iraqi Government are able to turn out in any way, shape, or form in the streets of Baghdad or in the streets of Najaf. To the extent that these are going to be peaceful expressions of people’s views, that’s a good thing. And that’s something that could have never occurred under the regime of Saddam Hussein. So I think in one sense, it’s a demonstration of the openness and the freedom that Iraqis now have to be able to freely express their views. Certainly, we would call on anyone who participates in these activities to act in a peaceful and responsible manner and do so in accordance with all the appropriate laws of the country.

In terms of what significance it has, well, I don’t think that it comes as a shock to anyone that Muqtada al-Sadr opposes the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq. I can certainly say that he’s been consistent in his views on that. That, you know, that he is calling now – why he is calling now for this particular kind of action, you know, is a decision that he’s made and I’m sure he would be happy to discuss his reasons behind it. So we would look for this to happen and happen in a way that is peaceful and respectful of the rights of other citizens in Iraq. And I’m sure that we will have an opportunity to hear more about it, including whatever analysis General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have next week during their rather extensive sessions of testimony with members of Congress.

QUESTION: Do you have or do you view any Iranian hand behind this decision?

MR. CASEY: Look, you know, there are well-known connections between Muqtada al-Sadr and Iran. But you know, what – whether he is taking advice or influenced by Iranian officials, that’s a question, I think, you can find lots of analysts around this town to talk to you about. I don’t have any particular insight into his decision making.