maximum restraint , including restraining Hezbollah and preventing the group 's acquisition of such lethal , long-range weapons . '' Within 24 hours , the senior U.S. diplomat in Damascus met with the vice foreign minister , Faisal al-Miqdad , to convey Clinton 's message . The cables described him as `` clearly surprised '' by the allegations . `` Flatly denying any Syrian role in the supply of weapons to Hezbollah , Miqdad contended Damascus supported Lebanese independence , '' a cable says , quoting Miqdad as saying : `` You may hear about weapons going to Hezbollah , but they are absolutely not coming through Syria . '' Miqdad then went on the offensive , according to the cable , asking : `` The most sophisticated weapons are coming to Israel , to be used against whom ? '' But the U.S. diplomat in Damascus commented : `` Even a seasoned diplomat like Miqdad could not restrain a raised eyebrow at our mention of the transfer of ballistic missiles to Hezbollah . '' The following day another cable from the secretary of state 's office asked U.S. diplomats to rally support from allies for Washington 's position .
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A series of U.S. diplomatic cables from early this year directly accused Syria of supplying advanced weaponry , including SCUD ballistic missiles , to the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon . U.S. protests to Damascus met with persistent denials , according to the cables , which were published by the WikiLeaks website . At a meeting in February , according to one cable , a senior U.S. diplomat stressed Washington 's concerns directly with Syrian President Bashar Asad , `` who bluntly stated that he knew of no new weapons systems going to Hezbollah . '' But just a week later , an urgent note from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the U.S. Embassy in Damascus said the United States had learned of Syrian plans to supply Hezbollah with SCUD-D ballistic missiles , which would magnify its threat to Israel . Clinton wrote : `` I must stress that this activity is of deep concern to my government , and we strongly caution you -LRB- Syria -RRB- against such a serious escalation . '' To reinforce the point , the cable continues : `` Your interest in avoiding war should require you to exert