ISMAILIYA: A US warship deployed off the coast of Lebanon has passed through the Suez Canal and is heading for the Gulf, an official with the canal authority told AFP.
“The USS Cole has crossed the Suez Canal and is making its way to the Gulf, the official said.
The United States sent the guided-missile destroyer to waters off the coast of Lebanon on Feb. 28, in what US officials said was “a show of support for regional stability amid concerns over Lebanon’s protracted political crisis.
During a stop in Cairo on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the deployment of the destroyer off Lebanon was aimed at “defending (US) interests and the interests of its allies.
“As to the American military presence, the US exercise’s a military presence in the region and it has for a very, very long time, Rice told reporters.
“It is simply to make very clear that the US is capable and willing of defending its interests and the interests of its allies. That is really all that is happening there, she said.
She said the United States defended the right of the Lebanese to elect their own president.
“They have lived too long under the shadow of foreign intimidation and foreign presence, she said. -AFP
