Lebanon president leaves with no replacement, crisis deepens
Sgt. Andrew Wood with the Marine Light Weapons Team. Marine Light Weapons Team is a joint U.S. Marine Corps/U.S. Navy program set up to provide and maintain equipment for the light weapon system, Marine Corps personal protective equipment and other personal weapons equipment.
President of Lebanon Michel Suleiman is leaving Lebanon with no successor, and the crisis deepened as he struggled to decide on a political solution.
The leader of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman, is leaving office with no successor, leaving the country in a critical position. The president is expected to remain in office until a new president is appointed.
On Sunday, the country’s parliament voted to pass a law that provides for elections within 30 days, and a cabinet will be formed after this. A cabinet is now scheduled to be named by the parliament, to be formed around the president’s choice.
“We have a president who has just left the country with no successor, and no replacement. That’s not the kind of president I would like to have in office,” says U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale.
“It requires a complete transformation, and I think it’s going to take a long time.”
President al-Saadi has been in office since May 2007. In October, he resigned in a bid for a new term and was replaced by Michel Suleiman who took office on October 26.
In an Oct. 25 statement, the president announced that he was appointing his prime minister and a new cabinet. Since then no clear agenda for the political transition has been established.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also met with the president Sunday.
“I was encouraged to hear the president’s words today and believe that the political transition that we have been discussing is moving quickly and it is going to take place in a manner that the people will be able to accept,” Kerry said.
Kerry said the United States continues to work with the president and the leadership team to “mobilize all partners to ensure that Lebanon leaves this crisis behind it.”
“We urge all sides to stop fighting, to stop attacking one another, and to stop trying to control the narrative and the events and to take advantage of the opportunity that