Syria Blasts U.S. "Interference"; Lebanon Tension Flares

This story was filed by CBS News' George Baghdadi in Damascus.

Saudi Arabia's king arrived Thursday in Damascus to try work with his Syrian counterpart, President Bashar Al-Assad, to defuse the potentially explosive situation over the possible implication of Hezbollah in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah -- a Muslim group backed by Syria and Iran -- has made recent television appearances saying clearly that his organization would not accept any blame and would fight against the charges.

Nasrallah's remarks have sparked fears of a sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon similar to one that brought the country close to civil war in 2008.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley said on Wednesday that Syria should play a more constructive role to ease the tension.

"Syria should distance itself from Iran and listen attentively to what the Saudi King would tell him," Crowley told reporters.

Damascus slammed his statement on Thursday as "interference," saying no one could know better how to handle regional affairs than the countries in the region.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses astonishment over the statement of the U.S. spokesman. It is not Washington's duty, and it has no right, to determine our relationship with the regional countries and interfere in the content of the Saudi King's talks during his visit to Damascus," said a statement from the Syrian government.

"Syria and Saudi Arabia are independent states which belong to this region and know better than any the interests of the people of this region, (and) how they should work to achieve these interests away from any external interference," the statement concluded.

Nasrallah, whose group fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006, views the possible accusations as an Israeli attempt to destabilize Lebanon.

Some witnesses have actually recanted, and four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals, jailed after Hariri's murder, were released last year for lack of evidence.

Hezbollah, whose military organization is more powerful than the Lebanese army, was not expected to hand over any suspects. Nor will the government be in a position to arrest anyone.

For years, however, Hariri's supporters maintained - and United Nations investigators indicated - that elements in the Syrian regime, which controlled Lebanon at the time, were behind the killing.

Anti-Syrian protests and international uproar over the assassination led to the establishment of a U.N. tribunal and forced Damascus to withdraw its troops after nearly 30 years boasting a huge military presence in Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia, under King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud (pictured above, right, with Assad, was a key supporter of Hariri and holds sway with his son Saad Hariri, Lebanon's current prime minister.

Though there is no immediate confirmation from Damascus, both Abduallah and Assad are expected to visit Beirut on Friday for a summit with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman -- an urgent attempt to ease political and domestic tension and preserve stability.

Relations between Syria and Lebanon have been on the mend since 2008 when diplomatic ties were established for the first time and Prime Minister Saad Hariri has made four trips to Syria in the past eight months.

"The most immediate question concerns the possibility of another Israel-Hezbollah war, fears of which have mounted throughout this year, fueled by reports of new missile transfers to Hezbollah and intermittent threats from Israel," says Paul Salemm, a Beirut-based Mideast expert.

"Those who foresee war argue that Israel is unwilling to tolerate a heavily-armed Iranian proxy on its border while tensions with Iran over the nuclear issue remain unresolved," Salemm adds.

[marvenetta]

Most of the conflict in the Middle East is a result of the US-Israel Axis, as the US and Israel want to tear down and rebuild the Middle East to their own liking. Time for the arab countries to realize this and join Syria in telling the US to mind its own business. Hopefully, americans will do likewise and tell Pres. Obama and his admin. to stop sticking their unwanted noses in the affairs of foreign countries, and focus all their attention and energy on improving the US economy and people's lives.

[msjb1]

why don't we leave over there with all them nut jobs and let them fight each other for another 1000 years then check for some progress if no progress shows after that long I doubt that there is any help for them then we might as well nuke them all at once

[afmcalax]

If Arab countries throughout the Middle East would have provided opportunities for integration to the displaced Palestanians decades ago there would be no Palestanian problem today. Instead they put them in camps where hopelessness was rampant so hate grew. Many of these Palestanians were well educated and would have added to the fabric of life in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, etc. but they were left in squalor by these countries and eventually their lack of future festered into terrorism and hate.

Syria is one country that adds nothing of value to the region. They have embraced the extremism in the region to hide the negative cultural and economic realities of their own country. Most of these middle eastern Arabic countries funnel the Palestanian hate to cover the fact that their societies are repressive and regressive.

[worldcitizen1]

After the disaster that was the Iraq war, millions of Iraqis were driven from there homes by the violence, many of them were allowed to relocate in Syria. If Israel had not taken over land held by Palestinian families for centuries, as they continue to do today with new "settlements", if Israel and the US allowed a free and independent state, like Israel was, there would be no "Palestinian problem", as you call it. The US needs to take care of problems at home, while subsidising Israel's existence, US taxpayers see their basic services cut, wit federal money not returning to the states like it should be, it is spent overseas.

[mrleme]

We kept our "warty nose" out of WWII and look what it got us, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. If you don't like America, go live somewhere else and stop enjoying and exploiting the freedom that America provides.

[worldcitizen1]

Therefore we must control the word and all of it's affairs? There is one main reason the US is in the middle east, profit! Your statement lacks logical reasoning. If you don't like war, you don't like "America", i assume you are speaking of the US.

[tsigili]

The time bomb was not created by the US. It was created by the Palestinians.....who absolutely refuse to make peace, under any conditions.

It is time for the US to tell the Palestinians......we will no longer provide any aid......we will no longer mediate peace......we will no longer make the effort. 10 yrs. of effort, is enough. The Palestinians do NOT want peace, under ANY conditions.

[worldcitizen1]

And Israel!

[wyodutch]

The American government keep it's long, warty nose out of anyplace is impossible.
.
We're already up to our armpits in two wars of occupation, threatening to Pearl Harbor Iran and strutting around North Korea.
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Ain't enough "volunteers" to handle many more wars, and the general American population sure doesn't want a draft where *their* little darlings might be at risk.

[lilbear925]

When Syria -- or any other Arab nation, for that matter -- meddles in the affairs and politics of any other nation, they do not consider it out of the ordinary. However, when the US -- or any other non Muslim nation -- does the exact same thing, it is called "interfering" by the Arabs. Their entire way of life wraps around controlling others and imposing their stupid and backwards laws on others, so why should anyone except the victims complain? It is because they have brainwashed their subjects for centuries to believe that "Allah" or some sheikh with money knows best.

[msjb1]

anyone that will blow themselves up cause someone told them too has got to be retarded or just plain stupid and Allah proberly does not want anything to do with such stupid people.