U.S. sends warship off Lebanon coast

By Sue Pleming and Andrew Gray

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Signalling impatience with Syria, the United States has sent its USS Cole warship off the coast of Lebanon in a show of support amid Beirut's political crisis, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

Officials said the Bush administration was concerned about political deadlock in Lebanon, which Washington blames on Syrian meddling, and the move underlined that worry.

"The presence is important. It isn't meant to send any stronger signals than that but in fact it does signal that we're engaged, we're going to be in the vicinity," said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mullen said the decision was not aimed only at Syria but at the region as whole.

"That's a very, very important part of the world and stability there as well as in the broader Middle East is an important outcome for us," he told reporters at the Pentagon.

A U.S. defence official said the Cole, a destroyer, left Malta on Tuesday heading toward Lebanon, adding it would not be within visible range of Lebanon but "well over the horizon."

A couple of U.S. Navy refuelling ships were also in the area, the official said.

Lebanon's Western-backed governing coalition and its Syrian and Iranian backed opposition have failed to reach a deal to end the country's political conflict.