Efforts increasing as U.S. seeks to evacuate 8,000 citizens from Lebanon

Officials said delays were for security's sake.
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- The United States ramped up its evacuation of citizens from Lebanon after a slow start as a luxury cruise ship carrying 1,000 Americans arrived in Cyprus early Thursday, a week after the Israeli bombardment began.
The Orient Queen reached Cyprus' port of Larnaca after a nine-hour journey, completing the first leg in a massive relay to evacuate thousands of U.S. citizens from war-torn Lebanon.
The eight-deck cruise liner's voyage was the first mass U.S. exodus from Lebanon since Israeli airstrikes started more than a week ago. The Orient Queen was just one among dozens of cruise ships taking part in the evacuation of thousands of foreigners from Lebanon.
The Americans departed two days after the first Europeans left on ships, and thousands more Europeans continued to stream out by sea Wednesday.
Amid complaints the U.S. effort had lagged, American officials made clear that fears about Americans traveling on roads in Beirut, especially at night, and on roads to Syria had led to some of the delays. The U.S. ambassador said Tuesday that an orderly and safe evacuation had been a first priority.
The Europeans faced some of the same difficulties: the airport closed by Israeli strikes and concerns about the safety of roads to Syria. But it was clear U.S. officials feared any large evacuation effort moving Americans might be targeted by Hezbollah or other hostile groups.
Lebanese police lined the main coastal road in Beirut as armored SUVs full of security guards escorted buses of Americans from an assembly point to the port to board the ship.
Many more to go
U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman, waving on the dock as the ship pulled out, said the evacuation would quickly swell to up to 2,000 Americans a day, both by sea and by helicopter.
Around 8,000 of the 25,000 Americans in Lebanon have asked to be evacuated.
Military helicopters flew 200 Americans from the hilltop U.S. Embassy to Larnaca. Chinook helicopters were taking over the task, capable of carrying 60 people each, twice as many as the Sea Stallions that have been ferrying out Americans since Sunday.
A Navy task force of nine ships, seven of which were en route late Wednesday, will help with the evacuation. Two more passenger ships chartered by the Navy were due to arrive on Friday, giving U.S. authorities the ability to take a total of 2,700 passengers daily, according to the Navy's Sealift Command spokesman Tim Boulay.