In an interview with the daily al-Akhbar published on Wednesday, Hanna said that following the end of President Emile Lahoud's term in November 2007, the George Bush administration was working on securing the election of a new president to the country.

However, the U.S. administration was "disappointed' in the March 14 Forces when they agreed to elect Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as new Presidnet rather than convening a parliament session overseas as the Bush administration was planning.

"How did the pillars of the Cedar Revolution accept a president to Lebanon known to have good and deep-rooted relations with the Syrian regime? I won't accept this over my dead body," Hanna quoted Cheney as saying.

Hanna, of Lebanese origin, told al-Akhbar that Cheney and Bush ignored Lebanon at the beginning of their term, as the country was classified as a secondary issue for the Republican administration.

The Republican administration of George Bush Sr. saw that a Syrian pull out from Lebanon at the time (1991 and particularly following the assassination of Israeli PM Yetzhak Rabin) would be linked to a similar Israeli military pull out from Lebanon.

But the issue of Hizbullah reminded the U.S. administration that it is an obstacle to peace in the region.

However, following the events of September 11, 2001 and particularly in 2003 following the American invasion of Iraq, the U.S. administration of George W. Bush felt that Lebanon is an independent country that should be administered by a regional power.