Rice says US opinion of Hezbollah has not changed

MEXICO CITY - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday the US still considers Hezbollah a "terrorist" organization despite the group showing its major political influence in Lebanon this week with a huge demonstration in Beirut.
"The American view of Hezbollah has not changed," Rice told reporters on a plane bound for Mexico.
The New York Times had reported earlier that the United States was grudgingly moving into line with efforts by France and the United Nations to get the Shiite group into the Lebanese political mainstream.
Rice renewed Washington's call for Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon.
"What we are focused at this point is removing what it is an artificial actor in the Lebanese politics and, that is, the Syrian forces and Syrian security personal," she said.
"The goal in the near term is to make certain that the Lebanese people have a fair opportunity to have free elections and chart their future and that's why we are so focused in getting the Syrian forces out," she added.
With mounting pressure for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, Hezbollah organised a demonstration by hundreds of thousands of people in Beirut on Tuesday in support of Syria and its leader, President Bashar al-Assad.

03/10/2005 17:33 GMT