Gen. Michel Aoun, a former prime minister of a Lebanese military government, was reported Thursday to have counted heavily on Saddam Hussein's financial support to wage war against the Syrian presence in Lebanon during 1989-1990 and afterwards.
The report was published by the Beirut-based Al Mustaqbal, which is owned by the current Lebanese premier, Rafic al Hariri.
Al Mustaqbal published a page-one photo copy of the text of a verbal message allegedly delivered to Saddam from Aoun by a Lebanese middle-man identified as Ahmed Fayez Al Miri'bi. According to the newspaper, it was sent after Aoun's 1991 exile to Paris in the aftermath of his "liberation war" against the Syrian army.
In the message, Aoun allegedly asked Saddam to "ensure a new and urgent installment of financial assistance to pay for arms and explosives in a deal already concluded with a European country." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
