Ain-Al-Yaqeen - October 22, 2004

		October 22, 2004

EGYPT OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES THAT THE IRAQ CONFERENCE WILL BE CONVENED NEXT MONTH.
BLAIR AND THE DEPLOYMENT OF BRITISH FORCES TO BAGHDAD.
AL-SHARA: THE SYRIAN EXISTENCE IN IRAQ IS NOT A THREAT TO WORLD PEACE.
THE UNSC ISSUES A STATEMENT ON SYRIA AND LEBANON.
AL-HARIRI RESIGNS AND APOLOGISES FOR NOT FORMING THE NEW GOVERNMENT.

During his talks with President Mubarak on the situation in the Middle East, Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs William Burns reviewed preparations for the international conference which will be hosted by Egypt in Sharm El Sheikh on November 22-23 for helping Iraqis maintain control over their country's affairs and preparations for the general elections which will be held before the end of January 2005 in Iraq.

Mubarak and Burns discussed ways to push forward efforts for settling the Palestinian cause, reaching a solution based on having two Palestinian and Israeli states besides sustaining strong cooperation between Egypt and the United States in the different domains.

Emerging from the meeting which was held at the Presidential palace in Heliopolis and attended by Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, the Director of the US National Security Council and US ambassador in Cairo David Welch, Burns said that his meeting with President Mubarak offered a chance for conveying condolences of the US people to the Egyptian people for the victims of Taba blasts.

"President Mubarak shares US interest in the need for helping Iraqis in building their state", Burns said that he expressed US appreciation of Egypt's cooperation in organizing Sharm El Sheikh conference which aims at mobilizing strong international support for the peaceful process in Iraq.

The US official said that talks with the president dealt with the need for working to reach a solution based on establishing two Palestinian and Israeli states, the strong partnership between Egypt and the United States.

He said that economic reforms in Egypt and future government steps in this domain are encouraging developments as they provide further opportunities for sustaining the strong cooperation between the two countries.

Regarding the agenda of the conference, Burns said that it will discuss how to implement the Security Council resolution No. 1546 which seeks to help Iraqis in controlling their country's affairs as an initial step towards holding elections by the end of next January, economic recovery and the security situation in frontier areas.

Answering a question on whether the conference would ask participating countries to send troops to Iraq, Burns said that there are different proposals which are currently being discussed for providing protection for the United Nations mission.

Presidential spokesman Ambassador Maged Abdel Fattah said that Egypt's role regarding the Sharm El Sheikh conference is a conciliatory one.

"Egypt will coordinate between the various parties in Iraq within the framework of the UN Security Council resolution 1546", he said.

"The UN is working hard to ensure that the Iraqi elections would begin according to schedule," he said.

The Presidential Spokesman said that the US is optimistic that elections will start before January 31 according to the UN resolution.

This optimism is based on the outcome of Burns latest visit to Iraq, he told reporters.

Abdel Fattah said that Sharm El Sheikh conference will not be authorized to postpone elections.

"Only the UN Security Council can do so," Abdel Fattah said, adding: "The conference will discuss ways to help the Iraqi people resolve their political, economic and security problems.

"Egypt regards the conference as a gathering of government representatives but opinions on inviting other Iraqi forces and elements are under discussion, " he said.

Abdel Fattah affirmed that Egypt is eager to hear the opinions of all parties in order to arrive at an appropriate outcome for the Iraq conference.

In London, Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon announced that 850 British troops currently deployed in southern Iraq would advance toward Baghdad to replace American fighting units that are expected to mount an assault on Iraqi insurgents west of the capital near Falluja.

"The government has decided that we should accept the U.S. request for assistance," Mr. Hoon told Parliament at midday. He said the deployment would take "a matter of weeks, not months" and that it would be "limited in scope, time and space."

Mr. Hoon's announcement ended weeks of speculation about the role of British forces in American-led efforts to suppress an insurgency that is threatening to delay and disrupt Iraq's national elections, set for January.

"After careful evaluation, the chiefs of staff have advised me that U.K. forces are able to undertake the proposed operation, that there is a compelling military operational justification for doing so, and that it entails a militarily acceptable level of risk for U.K. forces," Mr. Hoon told the House of Commons.

Opposition members of Parliament have questioned why the United States, with 130,000 troops in Iraq, needed 850 British forces for the approaching mission.

The Iraqi war is deeply unpopular with the British public, and Mr. Blair has come under increasing criticism for the involvement of Britain, which has about 9,000 troops in Iraq.

When the possibility first arose that Britain might station troops in volatile areas, away from Basra, the British stronghold in the south, it raised concerns among lawmakers in Britain and led to charges that Mr. Blair was seeking to boost President Bush's re-election bid.

Last Monday Mr. Hoon replied to scathing criticism in the Commons by declaring: "I want to make it clear that the request is a military request. And although it is linked to elections, it is not the U.S. elections, but with efforts to create the best possible security situation in which to hold the Iraqi elections in January."

Mr. Hoon said the British troops would be drawn from Scotland's Black Watch regiment, whose soldiers are among the most experienced and best equipped in Iraq.

British officials have also emphasized a determination among British military commanders to play a strong supporting role in any new American operation to pacify the country in advance of the elections.

Mr. Hoon's description of the timing of the operation - "weeks" rather than "months" - also indicates that the Bush administration may be preparing to mount a major military campaign in Iraq during the final weeks of the presidential election campaign.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking to Parliament last Wednesday, said the redeployment of British forces and any prospective military campaign would have nothing to do with the American presidential elections, and everything to do with guaranteeing free elections in Iraq.

Gen. Sir Michael Walker, chief of the defense staff, speaking at a news conference after Mr. Hoon, said there would be a 30-day limit on the British redeployment.

On the other hand Iraq Revenue Watch an initiative of the Open Society Institute has published the following report:

Disorder, Negligence and Mismanagement, How the CPA Handled Iraq Reconstruction Funds, October 1, 2004

Recent audits expose serious failures in American oversight of Iraq's revenues and U.S. reconstruction funds, according to a report by the Open Society Institute's Iraq Revenue Watch project.

The auditsreleased in late July by the Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector General (CPA-IG)paint a picture of disorder and negligence. Contractors made little effort to control costs, while the Coalition Provisional Authority, which was in charge of managing Iraqi reconstruction funds, failed to adhere to federally mandated procedures for awarding and overseeing contracts.

"The CPA did not do its job regarding the oversight of reconstruction funds," said Svetlana Tsalik, director of the Revenue Watch project. "It failed to stop the misuse and waste of money that belonged to the Iraqi people and American taxpayers."

An analysis of the data suggests that of $1.5 billion in contracts, the CPA awarded U.S. firms 74 percent of the value of all contracts paid for with Iraqi funds. Together with its British allies, U.S. and U.K. companies received 85 percent of the value of all such contracts. Iraqi firms, by contrast, received just 2 percent of the value of contracts paid for with Iraqi funds. "Government favorites such as Kellogg, Brown and Root benefited at the expense of Iraqi companies whose workers badly need jobs," said Tsalik.

The report, the sixth in a series by Iraq Revenue Watch, finds that 60 percent of the value of all contracts paid with Iraqi funds went to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR)the same company that Pentagon auditors in December 2003 found had overcharged the U.S. government for as much as $61 million for fuel imports into Iraq. A criminal investigation of KBR was launched by the Department of Defense in February 2004.

The CPA-IG audits confirm the findings of previous ones. A report released in July 2004 by the International Advisory and Monitoring Board, the watchdog body set up by the United Nations, found numerous problems in the CPA's control and use of Iraqi oil assets during the occupation. These include the absence of oil metering to control theft, poor record-keeping on oil sales, an absence of oversight of spending by the Iraqi ministries, the use of noncompetitive bidding procedures for some contracts, and the CPA's refusal to transmit crucial information to the UN-mandated body.

A recent Pentagon audit of KBR's billing system, which shows that systematic deficiencies in the company's accounting and billing procedures incurred significant costs to U.S taxpayers and to Iraqi oil revenues, is further proof of mismanagement.

Following the model of its American predecessor, the Iraq interim government to date has provided scant information about how it is managing Iraq's oil revenues.

Meanwhile the United States announced the removal of Iraq from the State Department's blacklist of "state sponsors of terrorism," thus having put an end to a 14-year-old determination that carried sanctions.

"I hereby rescind the determination of September 13, 1990 that Iraq is a country which has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism," Powell said in a notice published in the Federal Register.

Powell said that this is an important symbolic act for Iraq's interim leaders although the move would have little practical effect as most all of Washington's terrorism penalties on Iraq were suspended last year.

The Iraqi interim government headed by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi took the power of Iraq after the US-led coalition troops handed over the sovereignty to Iraqis on June 28.

"This action is a further step to cement the partnership of theUnited States and Iraq in combating acts of international terrorism and is an act of symbolic importance to the new Iraqi government," Powell said.

The removal of Iraq from terrorist blacklist came one month after US President George W. Bush ordered Powell to do so.

For now, six nations remain on the State Department's list of "state sponsors of terrorism". They are Cuba, Libya, Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Sudan and Syria.

On the other hand in London after talks with Blair, UN Secretary General Koffi Annan said tackling insurgents was essential to create a secure environment for rebuilding Iraq.

"Security is absolutely essential for us to be able to carry on with reconstruction," he told reporters in Blair's Downing Street home.

Blair said he and the U.N. chief had agreed Iraqi elections planned for January must go ahead. He denied Britain would be helping President Bush with his own looming election by sending more troops.

"The only elections that matter in this regard are the Iraqi elections next January which are an integral part of making sure that Iraq stabilizes and these terrorists and other groups do not have their way," Blair said.

Meanwhile US President George W Bush has said he would accept an Islamic government in Iraq as the result of free elections.

Mr Bush told the Associated Press in an interview that he would accept such a result if elections were open and fair.

"I will be disappointed. But democracy is democracy," he said during an interview given on Air Force One.

"If that's what the people choose, that's what the people choose," he said. Free elections are expected in the country next January.

Speaking as he travelled between campaign stops, Mr Bush said the US would leave Iraq "once we've helped them to get on the path of stability and democracy".

He added: "It's very difficult for me to predict what forces will exist although I will tell you that Iraq's leadership has made it quite clear that they can manage their own affairs at the appropriate time."

In London Tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of central London to protest against the Iraq war.

As Prime Minister Tony Blair struggled to shake off fierce UK criticism of the invasion, organisers said between 65,000 and 75,000 protesters had taken to the streets for the peaceful march.

"Troops out," screamed one of many placards being waved by demonstrators. "Blair must go," said another.

Last Sunday's march was the latest in a series of demonstrations organised by the Stop the War Coalition before and after the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

The invasion was backed by the British government but only a minority of the electorate.

The march was arranged to coincide with the end of the three-day European Social Forum held in London.

It also comes after a stormy week for Blair, who was accused in parliament last Wednesday of misrepresenting intelligence on Iraq to make the case for war.

One of the brothers of Kenneth Bigley - the British captive recently beheaded in Iraq - had urged people to turn out in force for last Sunday's march.

Thousands of European activists also joined the march

"For Ken's sake and for the sake of everyone in Iraq I ask you to make your feelings known to our government, to protest and to join the demonstration," Paul Bigley said.

Meanwhile CARE International said that the whole organisation is taking every possible step to secure the release of Margaret Hassan, CARE's Country Director in Iraq, who was abducted in Baghdad.

CARE has set up a special team of senior staff to deal with the situation. All relevant avenues are being pursued and CARE is in contact with Margaret's family. It would not be helpful or appropriate to detail the steps that are being taken.

Margaret Hassan is an Iraqi citizen and is married to an Iraqi.

For the last decade, despite all the problems and dangers, Margaret has implemented humanitarian programmes in Iraq through CARE International. CARE is an independent, non-governmental agency. Margaret has had no involvement with the war, other than trying to assist people throughout the conflict. Before the war, she was outspoken in warning of the potential humanitarian cost of any military action.

Margaret Hassan has been providing humanitarian relief with non-government organisations to the people of Iraq for much of her life there.

Her humanitarian work has helped the poorest and neediest Iraqis for 25 years. Her work with CARE has assisted women and children with health care, rebuilding hospitals and providing water and sanitation services.

CARE has decided temporarily to suspend its Iraq programmes in the current circumstances.

Despite the dangerous post-war environment, Margaret Hassan chose to continue assisting those most in need. We are hopeful she will soon be released to continue to help the Iraqi people to rebuild their lives.

CARE has a long history of providing humanitarian relief in Iraq, having worked there since 1991, it said.

Meanwhile the UN Security Council called unanimously for Syria to pull its troops out of neighbouring Lebanon, a demand that the Syrians quickly rejected.

Syria instead blamed the United States and France for trying to manipulate the council and underlined it had taken no action in the face of the deadly Israeli offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Capping days of diplomatic haggling, the 15-member council agreed on a statement calling on Damascus to comply with a previous resolution pushed through the council in September, which demanded the military pullout.

The United States and France battled to get the statement adopted despite strong opposition on the council, which only passed the September resolution with the minimum of nine votes in favour and six abstentions.

The statement calls on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to report to the council every six months on the implementation of resolution 1559, which also demands the disarming of militant groups in Lebanon.

"We all know that the resolution would not be implemented overnight," French ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere told reporters. "We will now look forward to the next report when it comes six months from now."

Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara, speaking in Brussels, said 1559 was "illegal intervention" in his country's relations with Lebanon, which for its part said the council statement set a "dangerous precedent of interference" in the internal affairs of a member state.

At the United Nations, Syrian Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad said there was nothing in the relationship with Damascus that threatened world peace and security, using the language of the UN Charter on the Security Council's mandate.

"Syria is very much committed to continue helping the Lebanese brotherly people until a final agreement is reached, as requested by the Lebanese government, vis-a-vis the Syrian presence in Lebanon," he said.

One of the key provisions of Resolution 1559 is the disarmament of militant groups, whose guerrilla war helped drive Israel out of southern Lebanon in 2000 after 22 years of occupation.

The Arab world has repeatedly pointed the finger at the United States over Security Council action in the Middle East, in particular Washington's regular use of its veto power to block resolutions criticising Israel.

The United States vetoed a resolution earlier this month calling for an end to Israel's Gaza Strip offensive, a move that many in the Arab world saw as a sign of double standards of US policy in the Middle East.

Deputy US ambassador Anne Patterson said the new council statement was a "strong signal" because it had been adopted unanimously -- after the reporting period for Annan was changed from every three months to every six.

"It will keep Syria's feet to the fire on complying with the requirements of the resolution," she told reporters.

"The requirements of the resolution, which sort of got lost in this discussion, are not to interfere with Lebanon's internal political processes and to get the Syrian troops out of Lebanon," Patterson said.

Syria's ambassador to the United Nations accused the United States of pressuring other Security Council members into accepting a presidential statement urging Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon.

"There is bitterness in the Security Council because of pressures that were exerted to force a number of countries to accept the logic inherent in the presidential statement," Mekdad said. Mekdad accused the United States and France of "extortion beyond imagination."

In Brussels for the initialling of a wide-ranging Syrian-EU "Association Agreement," Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa called the Security Council statement an "illegitimate interference in the bilateral relations of two countries at peace with each other."

It was the second time in six weeks that the council, at the behest of Washington and Paris, demanded Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon. The Security Council adopted a resolution on Sept. 2 urging Syria to withdraw all its troops from its smaller neighbour and stop intervening in its domestic affairs.

All 15 council members agreed on the presidential statement, including the two Islamic nations - Algeria and Pakistan.

During two weeks of difficult negotiations, Washington and Paris dropped a request that Annan monitor implementation of the resolution, and agreed not to name Syria.

They initially called for reports from Annan every three months, but compromised on six months.

Mekdad said the statement did not reflect the international community's will and that calls for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon did not serve peace but served "a private agenda for some domineering countries that wish to control and dominate the world."

Arab League chief Amr Moussa also criticized the Security Council for "ignoring other issues which threaten world peace and security, notably Israel's occupation of the Arab territories in Palestine.

"If the Security Council continue to abandon its main prerogatives ... its credibility will be extremely limited," Moussa said.

In London in a press statement after talks between Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Shara and his British counterpart Jack Straw, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Shara answering a question on the UN Security Council resolution 1559, Al-Shara questioned the legitimacy of the UN Security Council intervention in the internal affairs of countries bound by distinguished relation of fraternity and friendship while the Security Council doesn't concern itself with what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories where Israel practices all forms of killings, destruction as what happened in Jabalia refugee camp, in Gaza Strip.

Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Shara said Syria still considers that the peaceful solution constitutes the correct and sound way for the restoration of the occupied lands and usurped rights, citing the Israeli failure to impose its military solution.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Shara and his British counterpart Jack Straw discussed latest developments in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories as well as the issues on the UN Security Council agenda in light of Britain's duty presidency of the Council.

Shara-Straw talks also touched on bilateral relations between Syria and the UK on one side and between Syria and the EU on the other. Points of view were identical that signing the association agreement between Syria and the EU would further widen cooperation between the two sides.

The meeting was attended from the Syrian side by Deputy Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, Syria's Ambassador in London Dr. Sami al-Khiyami, and from the British side by Baroness Simons Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, the British Ambassador in Damascus and Director of Middle East and North Africa at the British Foreign Ministry.

In a joint news conference held at the end of talks, Al-Shara described as 'good and constructive' his talks with Mr. Straw, adding the discussions centered on the situations in Iraq and the international conference due next month mainly with the participation of Iraq's neighboring countries and the G8 Group.

Both sides also talked about the situations in the Middle East, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territories, and about the bilateral relations between Syria and Britain as well as the association agreement between Syria and the EU.

Mr. Straw expressed relief over the achievement of the Syria-EU Association Agreement.

For his part, Al-Shara thanked Mr. Straw for inviting him to visit Britain, adding that talks centered on the current situations in Iraq" where we asserted that the forthcoming elections there should be comprehensive in all Iraqi provinces with the participation of all Iraqis so that they become legitimate as sought by the Iraqi people."

Al-Shara added that "we also welcomed the idea of convening an international conference on Iraq to help the country establish stability and maintain its national and territorial unity."

On the situations in the region, Al-Shara stressed that peace must be just and comprehensive based on the internationally-backed legitimacy resolutions, pointing out in this regard to the Arab peace initiative endorsed by the Arab Summit in Beirut 2002.

Answering a question on the UN Security Council resolution 1559, Mr. Shara questioned the legitimacy of the UN Security Council intervention in the internal affairs of countries bound by distinguished relation of fraternity and friendship while the Security Council doesn't concern itself with what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories where Israel practices all forms of killings, destruction as what happened in Jabalia refugee camp, in Gaza Strip.

Al-Shara said Syria still considers that the peaceful solution constitutes the correct and sound way for the restoration of the occupied lands and usurped rights, citing the Israeli failure to impose its military solution.

A ceremony on the occasion of signing in initials on the Association Agreement between the Syrian Arab Republic and the European Union was held last Tuesday at Brussels-based EU Commission in presence of Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara and the EU Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Paten.

The Agreement was signed from the Syrian side by Dr. Abdullah Dardari, Chairman of the State Planning Board and from the European side by Mr. Christian Leffler, Director General of the Middle East and the Mediterranean Department at the European Commission.

Messrs Shara and Leffler exchanged cordial speeches on this occasion. Mr. Shara voiced pleasure over this event and expressed high appreciation of the great efforts exerted by the Syrian and European negotiators to reach this important document which consists of 1,450 pages.

Mr. Shara added that the content of this Agreement reflects joint willingness for cooperation between Syria and the EU in various fields, particularly political, economic, cultural and security areas. He said the historical and civilization framework in which our peoples flourished between the two banks of the Mediterranean will be very helpful to make this Association a success.

The Foreign Minister said Syria has persistently worked to see an active European vision in our region that helps finding just solutions to the problems which we face, on top of which, is ending Israel's occupation and stopping its continued aggression as well as establishing peace for all peoples of the regions, and opening prospects before them to live in dignity, freedom and prosperity.

Mr. Shara added that "the development and terrorism can't meet" terrorism doesn't exist without reasons.. fighting this phenomena requires elimination of its reasons and tackling its roots. Syria has recognized the dangers of this phenomena since its earlier call for convening an international conference on terrorism in 1986".

He added that "serious working and joint efforts to turn the Middle East into an area free of all weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, chemical and biological will be a great source of relief for our region in general. The Syria-EU Association Agreement stressed on this point.. Syria reassures readiness to cooperate with the EU and the region's countries to achieve this goal".

The Foreign Minister went on saying that "Syria's signing on the Association Agreement now aims at establishing cooperation between the Syrian and the European parties on the basis of constructive dialogue.. Syria has a real interest in this cooperation and implementation of this agreement and the issuing of laws and decrees helpful in this regard".

He added that "this agreement constitutes a suitable and vital mechanism to help in the program of development and modernization process in Syria It also constitutes a safe way to transfer technology and settle it in our country away from unjustified suspensions and accusations This agreement will encourage agriculture and industrial sectors in Syria to export their high-quality products to promising European markets and vice versa it is also a modest but important contribution in encouraging the dialogue among civilizations and prevent their clash. Especially under this challenge- bearing stage.

Mr. Shara concluded his speech by saying that "Syria's President, government and people reassure keenness and commitment to work to make the process of cooperation with the EU a success.. We reassure serious seeking to eliminate obstacles and difficulties which obstruct this agreement out of our conviction that security in the two region in inter-related as proved by development in the past and present joint interests binding the two region are deeply rooted in history".

For his part, Mr. Paten expressed pleasure over signing the Syria-EU Association following long and difficult negotiations, saying the Agreement will pose the framework for future European relations with Syria.

He added that with the achievement of this Agreement the European-Mediterranean network for developing relations on the basis of cooperation and respect has been completed.

Mr. Paten said this event would help boost peace, stability and prosperity, and it will be an example to be followed in all future agreements which the EU will conclude with other countries.

Later, Messrs Shara and Paten answered questions by reporters.

Answering a question on how he estimates the Association Agreement with Syria, Mr. Paten described the Agreement as very satisfactory.

On his assessment of the Syria-EU Agreement, Mr. Shara pointed out that this current stage is full of challenges, voicing the hope that full cooperation and dialogue between the two sides will be established.

Answering a question on the effect of the agreement on boosting the role of Europe over the issues of the region, Mr. Paten said he hopes that this agreement will help establish peace and prosperity in the region, pointing out that the European involvement in the region's issues is not new but it will deepen in future.

Later, Mr. Shara and Mr. Paten held an official round of talks during which they reviewed prospects of Syria-European relations after the implementation of the association Agreement.

Both sides asserted importance of this historical agreement in strengthening the relations between Syria and the EU.

The Foreign Minister also met at the HQ of the European Council in Brussels Mr. Javier Solana, the Higher representative of the Foreign Policy and Security at the EU.

Mr. Shara and Mr. Solana exchanged congratulations over the signing of the Association, emphasizing the importance of this event in advancing the process of cooperation between Syria and the EU.

In Beirut Prime Minister Rafik Hariri resigned and his Cabinet was annulled last Wednesday as expected, and he said he will not head the new government due to internal political differences.

"Facing the challenges, any challenges, can only be done through a unified domestic front that meets the goals of the Lebanese people ... but these objectives have been confronted by known political realities, therefore, following the discussions I held with the president and speaker, I found that I should resign from government and apologize for not running for the premiership," said a statement issued from Al-Hariri's office quoting him.

The Premier ended his statement in a farewell to his beloved country and its people and expressed his gratitude to all those with whom he worked during his premiership.

Al-Hariri submitted his written resignation to President Emile Lahoud after a five-minute meeting the two high-ranking officials held at the Presidential Palace in Baabda.

"Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri resigned today on Wednesday Oct. 20, and his resignation was accepted by the president, who asked the current Cabinet to retain its functions until a new Cabinet is formed," said a statement issued by Lahoud's office.

The U.S. and France, which sponsored the Sept. 2 Resolution 1559 calling for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon and stoop interfering in Lebanese affairs, said following a visit of their ambassadors to Al-Hariri last Wednesday evening they want a Lebanese Cabinet free of foreign interferences.

On Wednesday evening Al-Hariri received the American and French Ambassadors, U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said: "We hope the current government consultations will result in the type of credible, democratic and visionary Lebanese government that can move this country forward. I assure you a government that can move Lebanon in this direction will have the full support of the U.S and its international partners."

He said his country wants to see "a Lebanese government that can address the needs of Lebanon and a government that is truly representative of the will of the Lebanese people."

French Ambassador Philippe Lecourtier said France has "a clear objective: the good of Lebanon, that the country be prosperous and free to make its own decisions. It should be free to make its own decisions."