Israel Matzav

USS Cole heading back to Lebanon

The American warship Cole, which had been stationed off Lebanon at the end of February but had moved elsewhere, crossed the Suez Canal on Sunday and is apparently on its way back to Lebanon.

A U.S. warship, which was deployed off Lebanon in February amid concern over Beirut's political crisis, crossed Egypt's Suez Canal on Sunday on its way to the Mediterranean, an official with the canal authority told AFP.

"The USS Cole has crossed the Suez Canal and is headed to the Mediterranean," the official said, adding he did not know its exact destination.

The United States sent the guided-missile destroyer to waters off the coast of Lebanon on February 28, in what U.S. officials said was "a show of support for regional stability" amid concerns over Lebanon's protracted political crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had defended the earlier deployment saying it was designed to show Washington's readiness to defend the interests of its allies in the region.

In March, the USS Cole had left the region for the Gulf.

It sure sounds like it's going to Lebanon. Heh.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:03 PM