USS Cole sent to Lebanon

The guided-missile destroyer USS Cole is currently stationed off the coast of Lebanon as a show of support for the current government of Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese Prime Minister.

The Syria-backed Hezbollah factions in Lebanon are calling this show of support a military intervention and an attempt to influence the upcoming elections.

From the Middle East Times --

A U.S. decision to dispatch three warships, including the USS Cole, to the coast of Lebanon to "show support for regional stability" is causing jitters within the country that such an overt show of foreign military strength is likely to exacerbate its political crisis.

Pentagon officials announced that the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole left Malta for Lebanon on Tuesday, because of "concern about the situation in Lebanon," which is suffering the worst political crisis since the end of its 1975-1990 civil war.

The politically-divided Lebanese see the move as a show of force intended to threaten Syria and Iran, the backers of the Hezbollah-led opposition that Washington accuses of obstructing the election of a president, a post that has been vacant since pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud's term expired in November. More....

Concerns about security and polotics in the region have prompted the Saudi government to warn citizens about travel in Lebanon. They have recently urged Saudi nationals to immediately leave Lebanon....

From Al-Jazeera --

The Saudi Arabian embassy in Beirut has called on its nationals to leave Lebanon a day after a US warship was positioned off the country's coast.

The embassy on Saturday sent SMS messages to Saudis living in Lebanon urging them to leave the country as soon as possible, Al Jazeera's correspondent said.

Kuwait and Bahrain followed with similar calls.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia is a major supporter of the Sunni-led government in Lebanon which has been locked in a 15-month-old political standoff with an opposition led by Iranian-and-Syrian backed Hezbollah. More....