WikiLeaks: Miqati Says Hizbullah is 'Cancerous' ... PM-designate's Office Responds

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has reportedly described Hizbullah as "cancerous" calling for ending the statelet that the party has built to allegedly safeguard Lebanon.

In a WikiLeaks cable published by al-Joumhouria daily on Tuesday, Miqati told former U.S. ambassador Michele Sison that Hizbullah is a "cancerous tumor" and called for removing its statelet whether it was "malignant or benign."

He warned that Hizbullah could drag Lebanon to a "sad end."

The cable dated January 12, 2008.

Later Tuesday, Miqati's office released a statement saying the comments did not "reflect his convictions" and had political motives, without specifying.

"The prime minister will not get involved in debates with any party, especially over ... words and positions that are in part untrue, in part inaccurate and most of which go back years," read the statement.

It noted that most of the remarks are part of Miqati's "political analysis of the general situations in Lebanon at the time."

According to the cable, Miqati also called for better U.S. ties with Lebanon and Syria to "contain" Hizbullah, warning that the main objective of the Shiite party was to form an Iranian military base on the Mediterranean.

The dream of Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Khomeini of exporting the Iranian revolution needed a "launch pad" which is Lebanon, he said. Achieving this objective requires a lot of time but Hizbullah is "patient," he added.

Asked by Sison if he thought peace with Israel would contain such intentions, Miqati said that peace would lead to a "happy ending," but wondered whether Syria would engage in talks with the Jewish state without a green light from Iran.

The premier-designate's comments came on the eve of the 2009 elections. He told Sison that the era of former Prime Minster Fouad Saniora "was over" and he needed to take a "vacation."

Miqati, according to WikiLeaks, told the former ambassador that Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri was seeking for the top post but wondered whether Saudi Arabia was willing to back him.

Taking up the post without the support of the Sunnis would lead to failure, he said. "I am not ready to fail."

Miqati unveiled that there was no major support by the Lebanese army leadership and former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir to President Michel Suleiman, saying "Sfeir is not in love with" him.

"The Lebanese Armed Forces sympathize with the March 8 forces at a time when most officers back Hizbullah and (FPM leader) Gen. Michel Aoun," the billionaire businessman told Sison, according to the cable.