Posted on 03/05/2005 7:14:50 AM PST by frithguild
DAMASCUS, Syria (CNN) -- Lebanese army troops and armored vehicles took up positions Saturday around the Syrian intelligence headquarters in Beirut.
The move comes ahead of an expected announcement from Syrian President Bashar Assad, within a few hours, that he will withdraw some troops from Lebanon and redeploy others within the country. * * * Massive Lebanese protests and mounting international concern is pressuring Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.
U.S. President Bush added to the pressure Friday, saying, "The world is beginning to speak with one voice. We want that democracy in Lebanon to succeed, and we know it cannot succeed so long as she is occupied by a foreign power." * * * Mouallem has been holding talks with Russian officials in Moscow after calls from Russia and Saudi Arabia for Damascus to withdraw its forces.
* * * Moscow abstained when the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1559 calling for foreign forces to leave Lebanon and militias to disarm.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I'm waiting for key elements of the Lebanese Army to turn on their Syrian Puppet Masters. That will be the first sign that the end is near for Assad (and, it will be bloody for both sides).
The Lebanese are soooooo media savvy..All the sign are neatly printed, and spelled correctly, in ENGLISH..
It never occurred to me that Lebanon had an army. I thought they were just a puppet of Syria.
This is great news. Seems like the spirit of democracy is bubbling forth in some areas. A real plus for the good guys.
mc
I lived in a Maronite Lebanese community for several years. My roomate was a relatives of Amine Gemeyal Their culture produces people who are honest, hard working and dedicated to their families. They love their homeland and are heartbroken to have had to leave.
I am sure they support George Bush.
The Syrian occupation has been a disaster for their culture, and it can only do REALLY good for that region to get Lebanon back to a stable democracy.
Folks, we have watched the tipping point, and the dominoes continue to fall...
Syria has pretty much raped their economy as well. You're right, the Lebanese are hard workers and smart. Without the yolk of supporting a bunch of foreign thugs, they can be back to where they were before the civil war in no time.
Well good luck to them and may they succeed in driving out their foreign thugs! he he he Thank you President Bush ;)
"The Lebanese had been, for quite a while, the most modern Arabs. Look up the history of Lebanese Americans and you might be surprised how many have affected American history positively throughout the years."
Most Lebanese are not Arabic. They are descendents of Phoenecians, which were once hellenized people back in antiquity, descendents of Europeans, and some Arabs.
This is Bush's fault.
Do you happen to know if the movie was based on a book--or if there is a definitive biography of William Wallace?
How long until the left pounce on this quote? "Hey, Iraq is "occupied" be a foreign power and you want democracy to succeed there!"
LORD, HELP THEM GET ALL THE INTEL INTACT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, PLEASE, DEAR GOD! AND PROTECT HONORABLE LEBONESE.
BUSH TO SYRIA: SCRAM (posted 3/4/05)
3/4/05 The New York Post interviews President Bush who says of Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon: 'This is non-negotiable. It is time to get out'.
This is in response to massive demonstrations after the assassination of anti-Syrian Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. ABC news reports: With shouts of "Syria out!" 25,000 protesters massed outside Parliament in a dramatic display of defiance Monday that forced out Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister and Cabinet. <..> It is the first victory, but it will not be the last," opposition leader and former information minister Ghazi al-Areedh told the crowd in a scene broadcast live around the Arab world.
Even more amazing, an Israeli paper reports: Lebanese opposition members have asked Israel to encourage the United States to pressure Syria into withdrawing its troops from Lebanon. <..> Lebanese figures contacted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz's advisor, Uri Lubrani, among other officials in Jerusalem, and indicated they were determined to keep struggling against the Syrian presence in Lebanon but need American support. An Arab nation asking for Israel's help for the first time in modern history for the purpose of securing the only real pressure that can protect the demonstrators and actually force Syria out: pressure from the United States of America! This is reminiscent of the recent Ukraine protestors, who, again backed by the United States, overthrew the corrupt establishment after a rigged election.
In other news, President Bush's push for freedom across the Middle East continues to jolt, albeit slowly, tyrants into action. The autocratic dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt recently gave a speech Touting "freedom and democracy," Mubarak told an audience at Menoufia University, north of Cairo, that he asked parliament and the consultative Shura Council to amend the constitution's Article 76 on presidential elections <..> and said multiple candidates could run in the nation's presidential elections, a scenario Mubarak hasn't faced since taking power in 1981. This (2/26/05) article, especially it's headline, is biased because Mubarak really isn't changing anything because of restrictive stipulations around who can run. Laughably, Ayman Nour, who is one of the strongest proponents of an open election and who was arrested by Egyptian police last month, praised Mubarak's announcement in a statement from jail. Nour called it "an important and courageous move" toward "comprehensive constitutional reform," in a statement read by his wife, Gamila Ismael. Horray!
In Libya (3/2/05), Dictator Muammar Gaddafi blathered: let "freedoms blossom" "The people power and the direct democracy in Libya came to give an alternative to the worsening political crisis in the world where everywhere outside Libya dictatorship rules," he declared. <..> Gaddafi said the people of the United States, Britain and Italy were living "under the yoke of dictatorships" and invited their politicians, scholars and intellectuals to visit Libya to learn how "the only genuine democracy works".
At least they are running scared. :)
They are a smart people. It will help them in re-building what Syria destroyed.
Time for Assad to leave NOW.
William Wallace by Andrew Fisher
Let FREEDOM RING!
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