Crocker, who was U.S. ambassador in Baghdad from 2007 to 2009, suggested Washington should engage with Hezbollah in the same way that Americans had engaged with some former Sunni insurgents in Iraq. As a result, they turned against al Qaeda helped and reverse the tide of sectarian conflict.
"One thing I learned in Iraq is that engagement can be extremely valuable in ending an insurgency," Crocker told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"We cannot mess with our adversary's mind if we are not talking to him," Crocker said. "Hezbollah is a part of the Lebanese political landscape, and we should deal with it directly."....
Crocker's suggestion followed recent comments by White House official John Brennan that the Obama administration wanted to build up "moderate elements" in Hezbollah.
But State Department officials at Tuesday's hearing denied U.S. policy was in flux. "We do not ... think that there is any room right now for engagement with Hezbollah," said Daniel Benjamin. the department's counter-terrorism coordinator. "I don't anticipate that policy changing," said Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He said Washington could rethink its policy if Hezbollah would stop maintaining a militia, drop "terrorist" activities and evolve into a "normal" part of Lebanon's political fabric.....
Crocker, one of Washington's most experienced Middle Eastern hands before he retired last year, also urged senators to confirm a new ambassador to Syria. President Obama's nominee, Robert Ford, has stalled in the Senate amid concerns that Syria may have transferred Scuds to Hezbollah.
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