Bush had nothing to do with it.
The bomb that killed the leader precipitated this.
No condi
No state dept.
no threats.
No aid packages.
No diplomacy
No alliances
No development plans
No CIA coup
No Bush.
Keep telling yourself that.
The bomb that killed Harari finally woke them up all the way. The Bush Doctrine has made it safer for people to rise up and demand their government "do right".
So yes, although the bomb did set off this stage of the game, the atmosphere encouraged it.
Yeah, President Bush pulling the U.S. Ambassador to Syria had *nothing* to do with Syria figuring out that the U.S. military was about to enforce the President's words from his State of the Union speech last month that the U.S. would support those who rallied for freedom...
< /dripping sarcasm >
Sarah, you give "useful idiots" a bad name. I've seen more intellectual analysis from drunk weather forecasters.
Right, and it's no accident that Syria landed itself on the Axis Of Evil list shortly after September 11, 2001, by none other than President Bush in front of a joint session of Congress, because for decades, they've been on that notorious list of states that sponsor terror.
Dream on, sugar.
Pretty limited world view there, girl. I've observed that liberals are uniquely unable to connect any dots or, in other words, to put multiple events into a proper context. Thank you for giving me a stunning example.
uhhh... look at it this way. NO Bush = NO FREE IRAQ
NO FREE IRAQ = NO HOPE OF FREEDOM in the Middle East
NO HOPE OF FREEEDOM in the Middle East = NO ATTEMPT AT FREEDOM... PERIOD!!!
it's NOT rocket science
I will attempt to fill you in a bit on Lebanese history, since you clearly know nothing about the subject. These types of political assassinations have been an incredibly common occurrence in Lebanon.
On Sept. 14, 1982, president-elect Bashir Gemayel was killed in a bomb attack at Phalangist militia headquarters just eight days before he was due to take office. On June 1, 1987, Sunni prime minister Rashid Karami, brother of current premier Omar Karami, was killed by a bomb planted under his seat in a helicopter. On Nov. 22, 1989, president Rene Mouawad was assassinated only 17 days after taking office in an attack in west Beirut that killed 15. On Oct. 21, 1990, Christian leader Dany Chamoun, his wife and two of their children were killed in a commando raid on their home near Beirut. In October 2004, a car bomb wounded opposition parliamentarian Marwan Hamade, soon after he quit his post as economy minister in protest at the extension of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term.
Essentially, the assassination of Hariri was nothing new at all. The only thing different was the American presence in the region. Shortly after the Hariri murder, Syria began arming its supporters in Lebanon to put down the growing revolution. However, America secured (and then with the backing of Europe) that any attempt at a violent put down of the revolt would be met with intervention. The pro-Syrian government had no choice but to resign in the face of a revolution which they could not violently suppress. You still want to tell me that the current U.S. presence and government had nothing to do with this?
President Bush Great Middle East project to spread freedom and democracy has a lot to do with what you see now in Lebanon.
The bomb that killed the leader precipitated this.
Wrong.
excerpt:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
~snip~
Those like you who either did not understand his message (delivered not in just this speech) or willfully distorted it can bray all the live-long day, but the people of the world know: President Bush is a man who says what he means and means what he says.
The people of Lebanon felt free to take these steps.