White House calls reported killing of Hezbollah’s Aqil ‘a good outcome’
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says Aqil has “American blood on his hands and has a rewards for justice price on his head”.
Aqil had been wanted by the US for years for his alleged role in the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut and in taking American and German captive in Lebanon in the 1980s.
He was under US sanctions and in 2023, the US State Department announced a reward of up to $7m for information leading to his “identification, location, arrest, and/or conviction”.
“He is somebody who the United States promised long ago we would do everything we could to see brought to justice,” Sullivan said. “You know, 1983 seems like a long time ago,” he said. “But for a lot of families and a lot of people, they’re still living with it every day.”
Just like the displaced Palestinians, still living with it every day since the 1930's.
Sullivan made ‘shocking’ statement on Beirut attack
Mohamad Elmasry, professor in the media studies programme at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says he is not surprised by the “shocking statement” made by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan who indicated that the Israeli assassination of a top Hezbollah leader brought justice to the group – despite at least 37 Lebanese being killed in the same attack.
“The United States has a long history of its own war crimes and it has been covering for Israeli crimes not only during the past 11.5 months, but for decades now – giving Israel cover at the UN and in other diplomatic circles and supplying Israel with weapons to target civilians,” Elmasry told Al Jazeera.
“The US is acting like the neighbourhood drug dealer who tells the addict they really should stop doing drugs but constantly supplying them with drugs,” he said.
“The US says one thing but it’s doing another – supplying Israel with weaponry and telling everybody it wants a ceasefire but then vetoing ceasefire resolutions at the UN.”
US: Spate of attacks on Hezbollah may lead to ‘cessation of hostilities’
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says the risk of further escalation is “acute” following the targeting of senior Hezbollah leaders and the detonation of communication devices across Lebanon.
But he suggested the widescale attacks could actually dampen rising tensions in the Middle East region.
“While the risk of escalation is real, we actually believe there is also a distinct avenue to getting to a cessation of hostilities and a durable solution that makes people on both sides of the border feel secure,” Sullivan told reporters.
The blowing up of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon this week killed at least 39 and injured roughly 3,000 people. Israel has been widely blamed but has not taken responsibility for the brazen attacks.
Seems more likely every day the USA was in on this 'stunt'. Just as delusional as Netanyahu, always going with the bigger bomb instead of diplomacy. The only thing the US succeeds in is keeping the ME permanently at the brink of war.
Might doesn't make right, it only makes more long term enemies.
