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An Israeli intelligence report said the organizers of the flotilla, identified as the Humanitarian Relief Foundation and expected to sail for the Gaza Strip in late June, were coordinating with Iranian leaders. The report by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center asserted that Iran was providing diplomatic and propaganda support and could contribute to the flotilla.

"Iran is actively involved in attempts to delegitimize Israel and shows solidarity with the flotillas and convoys campaigns," the state-financed center said. "However, it takes pains to avoid directly and openly taking part in the campaigns."

Edelman, a former defense undersecretary, said U.S. efforts to help the Lebanese military did not prevent Beirut's domination by Iran and Syria. He said Washington used the same methods to influence Lebanon in 2005 as it did in its first failed effort in 1982.

"While the Syrian and Iranian governments quickly provided the terrorist group Hizbullah with sophisticated weaponry, the U.S. commitment to devote more than half a billion dollars to rapidly train and equip the Lebanese Armed Forces languished in the ponderous machinery of statecraft," the report said. "Despite the clear urgency in Lebanon, it took until the fall of 2006 for the first materiel to arrive in Beirut."

Still, U.S. support was said to have saved the Lebanese government during the Al Qaida takeover of a Palestinian ref... >>>