Despite Barrack’s bonhomie, Washington remains dissatisfied with Lebanon’s response

Tom Barrack’s courtesy and positive tone after receiving Lebanon’s response to the U.S. proposal should reassure neither the Lebanese state nor Hezbollah. This “encouraging” reaction is meant only to acknowledge Beirut’s initial efforts before reviewing in depth the content, several U.S. sources involved in the matter told L’Orient-Le Jour.The Trump administration expressed disappointment with this initial response, while recognizing that it was only a starting point for negotiations — negotiations that, according to Washington, cannot drag on indefinitely.“There is no fixed timeline, but things need to move quickly,” said a U.S. official. Read more In southern Lebanon, UNIFIL conducts one of its largest operations since the cease-fire For now, Washington is refraining from applying public pressure to avoid allowing Lebanese...