Discussing government formation in Lebanon, a senior U.S. diplomat indicated that “the U.S. government has worked before with the Lebanese governments that have had Hizbollah… We find a way to work with the Lebanese government that is productive within certain constraints”. He further maintained that “our principles on Lebanon, notwithstanding who may or may not be the next prime minister… is that this government must be capable of and committed to pursuing reform and fighting corruption. We are highly skeptical that a government led by Hizbollah would be capable of or committed to fighting corruption. This is an organisation that depends greatly on corruption for its survival and funding its criminal enterprise and terrorist activities”.