US discontent over British talks with Hezbollah

A senior U.S. official said Friday he was unhappy with a British decision to open low-level contact with Hezbollah and suggested London only indirectly informed the new administration ahead of time.

The remarks contrasted with those last week from the State Department which said U.S. officials had been informed about the move in advance and gave no sign of displeasure -- even if Washington was not ready to follow London's lead.

The senior U.S. government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to a group of journalists in Washington, clearly expressed discomfort with the British decision.

He said he would like the British to explain to him "the difference between the political, military and social wings of Hezbollah because we don't see a difference between the integrated leadership that they see."

Low-level contact

In London, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said March 6 that Britain had authorized low-level contact with the political wing of Lebanon's Hezbollah to stress the urgency of disbanding militias.

He underscored the need to curb Shiite-led Iran's influence with the Shiite Muslim militant group and others in the region in a statement immediately hailed by Hezbollah.

The U.S. government official, when asked if London consulted Washington ahead of time, replied: "I would say informed under a previous administration is a more accurate description."

He was apparently referring to the administration of president George W. Bush, which was succeeded Jan. 20 by that of President Barack Obama.

The official also objected to the glorification in the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut of Imad Mugnieh, a Hezbollah commander who was killed in a car bombing in February 2008 that the movement blamed on Israel.

I would like the British to explain the difference between the political, military and social wings of Hezbollah because we don't see a difference between the integrated leadership that they see

Senior U.S. government official

Imad Mugnieh

"For years Hezbollah denied having any knowledge of Imad Mugnieh, for years Hezbollah pretended that Imad Mugnieh and that whole era of Hezbollah was not really Hezbollah, it was something else," the official said.

"And now all over south Beirut are all these posters extolling the virtues of Imad Mugnieh," said the official of the man who made America's most wanted list for his role in anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli attacks in the 1980s and 1990s.

When a journalist suggested he did not sound happy with the British decision, he replied: "No."

Last week, Gordon Duguid, a State Department spokesman said "we are not ready to take the same step" that the British took, declining to either praise or criticize it.

However, the Obama administration, which has talked about engaging states hostile to the United States, seemed interested in the results of the British contacts with Hezbollah when Duguid said "we will watch how that proceeds."

And in sharp contrast to the senior government official, a State Department official told reporters on the condition of anonymity last week that Washington envisioned possible benefits from the British decision.