Washington will not stand back from supporting Hezbollah’s opponents should Lebanon’s political crisis turn to civil disturbances

" ... Elsewhere, Vice-President Biden’s visit to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq has revived debate about US policy in the region. The rising instability in Pakistan is of deep concern to US officials, with Obama expressing support for President Zardari. However, given the fact that most officials regard Pakistan through the lens of the US operations in Afghanistan, we do not anticipate any lessening of pressure on Islamabad to act against Taliban havens in Waziristan. Biden also warned Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki not to count on US intervention to control Moqtada al-Sadr. In the Middle East, the Administration’s long-standing criticism of Hezbollah in Lebanon is intensifying. Washington will not stand back from supporting Hezbollah’s opponents should Lebanon’s political crisis turn to civil disturbances or conflict. Amid this flurry of overseas trips, the visit by French president Sarkozy attracted little attention. US officials did, however, take the opportunity to express their continuing expectation that the Europeans will take more vigorous action to shore up their economies. Finally, Obama’sspeech at the Tucson memorial service has allowed his political standing to improve, an important asset for him as he prepares to deal with the new Congress.