The Lebanese government’s spin control of the Hezbollah crisis already started off on the wrong foot. Ya Libnan reports that Farid Abboud (pictured), the country’s ambassador to the US, was recalled from his post after telling CNN he supported Hezbollah’s kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers:
But Abboud appeared to endorse Hezbollah’s call for a prisoner swap during an interview Wednesday with CNN International.
“We have our prisoners. They have prisoners. An exchange would be appropriate, and I think it will resolve the problem,” Abboud said.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Mahmoud Abbas to take similar action against one of his advisors for making similar comments. According to the Jerusalem Post:
Ahmed Abdel Rahman, a senior Fatah leader and close advisor to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, sent greetings to Hizbullah “for aiding their Palestinian brethren.”
Defending the recent Hizbullah and Hamas attacks on Israel as “legitimate acts of self-defense,” he called on the two groups to demand the release of all Palestinians and Arabs from Israeli jails.