    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [September 19, 2007]
    [Pages 1211-1212]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Death of Parliament Member Antoine Ghanem of Lebanon
    September 19, 2007

        I strongly condemn today's horrific assassination of Lebanese Member
    of Parliament Antoine Ghanem. I extend my personal condolences to his
    family and the families of the innocent persons who were murdered
    alongside him in Beirut.
        Since October 2004, there has been a tragic pattern of political
    assassinations and attempted assassinations designed to silence those
    Lebanese who courageously defend their vision of an independent and
    democratic Lebanon. Today's cowardly attack comes days before the
    Lebanese Parliament is scheduled to convene to elect a new President.
    The United States opposes any attempts to intimidate the Lebanese people
    as they seek to exercise their democratic right to select a President
    without foreign interference. We will continue to stand shoulder to
    shoulder with the Lebanese people as they resist attempts by the Syrian
    and Iranian regimes and their allies to destabilize Lebanon and
    undermine its sovereignty.
        I call on the international community to support the Government of
    Lebanon in its efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of these
    violent attacks and to stand with the citizens of Lebanon who continue
    to struggle to protect their freedom.

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