Anti-U.S., anti-Israeli groups meet in Beirut, U.S. says

From CNN State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials are eyeing the January meeting of several anti-Israeli and anti-American militant groups in Beirut, U.S. sources told CNN.

A number of groups that U.S. officials consider the most dangerous were represented at the Beirut conference, including Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization; Hamas; Hezbollah; and the Islamic Jihad, U.S. officials said.

All of the groups have claimed responsibility in the past for attacks on American and Israeli targets.

One State Department official called the Beirut meeting a "cause for concern" but cautioned it "doesn't indicate that we (the United States) should expect a rash of coordinated activity."

Another reason for concern, officials say, was the presence of representatives from Iran and Iraq.

Since the Palestinian intifada began last September, Iran in particular has "stepped up its terrorist activity ... and stepped up its planning" for terrorist attacks," explained one U.S. official.

U.S. officials indicate that Iran is not only providing money, weaponry and training to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, but they said there has also been a "marked increase" in Iranian support for terrorist activity in Jordan, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza.

One administration source said the terrorist meeting in Beirut and Iran's stepped-up activity confirm the administration's fears about the potential for the Mideast peace process to "come off the rails." Another administration source said Iran is "trying to capitalize" on sentiment within the Arab world that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was a mistake.

"They sense an opportunity ... to create a bloc of 'rejectionist' states to oppose the U.S., Israel and moderate Arab states," the official said.

Perhaps most worrisome to the Bush administration is the fact that the meeting took place at the same time that the peace process is effectively on ice.

Following last week's election of the conservative Likud party leader Ariel Sharon as Israel's next prime minister, President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powellhave urged regional leaders to show restraint. Sharon has made no secret of his desire to get tougher with the Palestinians than his predecessor, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Powell plans to discuss this and other issues when he travels to the Middle East, Persian Gulf and Brussels, Belgium, later this month.

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