Senior State Department Official's Meeting with Hezbollah Ally Indefensible, Ros-Lehtinen Says

Monday, October 1, 2012

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made the following statement today after Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman met with Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil, an open supporter of the Assad regime and the violent extremist group Hezbollah, at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
"The fact that one the State Department's highest ranking officials met with Bassil--one of Hezbollah's most stalwart allies--is beyond indefensible. A supporter of Assad and Hezbollah has no place meeting with U.S. officials.

"The Administration chooses to meet with the likes of Bassil while giving the cold shoulder to our closest ally, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  The Administration must explain its actions to the American people; we demand answers and deserve no less. "