Syria vows full Lebanon pullout

BBC ^ | Wednesday, 30 March, 2005, 01:32 GMT 02:32 UK | staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Syria vows full Lebanon pullout

A final withdrawal timetable is to be set before Saturday

Syria has confirmed it will pull all its troops out of Lebanon before Lebanese elections due in May.

Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara made the pledge in a letter to the UN.

Syria has already begun the withdrawal, following an outcry over the assassination last month of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri.

The Lebanese opposition accused Syria of being behind the killing, and street protests led to the downfall of the pro-Syrian administration in Beirut.

Prime Minister Omar Karami stood down two weeks after the 14 February bomb blast that killed Hariri.

President Emile Lahoud reinstated him on 10 March, but he has said he plans to quit again on Wednesday after apparently failing to form a national unity government.

Damascus has denied any involvement in the assassination, and there have been rallies in Lebanon in support of a continued Syrian presence.

But troop levels, which once stood at 40,000, were down to 8,000 on Monday after departures in the last few days.

A UN resolution sponsored by the US and France in September called for a full withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence services.

Reuters news agency quoted Syrian UN Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad as saying that a joint Syrian-Lebanese committee would meet before Saturday to set a timetable for full withdrawal.

The UN Security Council has been meeting to discuss whether to authorise an international investigation into Mr Hariri's death.

[Billthedrill]

We'll see. That also might be an advantageous timetable for someone planning a campaign of violence sufficient to influence the electorate into voting for order at any cost. Not that anyone (cough*hezbollah*cough) would benefit from that...

[jolie560]

..."...Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara made the pledge in a letter to the UN."...

Now, that's a sign of a meaningful commitment---a letter to the UN. !!!!!

[MD_Willington_1976]

...And "Fast Eddie" always claimed he'd pullout...the next day he left town on his motorcycle and the poor school girl would be in trouble... oh different thing... <;P

[printhead]

and they're taking the lawn chairs too? that'll set them back a buck or two.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

And they had a free lunch while they were there and they aren't planning to leave any tip!

[SunkenCiv]

"Damascus has denied any involvement in the assassination"

and O.J. Simpson has denied, well, you get the idea. ;')

[Patrick_k]

"Ghadry told Ynet’s correspondent that Damascus has been secretly dispatching dozens of Palestinian youths to Lebanon during the past two weeks, alongside the apparent withdrawal of Syrian forces from the country." http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3059351,00.html

The Syrian Popular Party in Lebanon, which is a lebanese party, is hosting "civilians" of "unknown" citizenship.

Newly rented appartments in the regions controlled by Hezbollah are suspected to be the new homes to the syrian intelligence apparatus.

[EGPWS]

All together now:

Who's fault is it?.....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

NOT good news, ....not surprising however.

[Southack]

"A UN resolution sponsored by the US and France in September called for a full withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence services."

Ah, another half-truth from the BBC.

UN Resolution 1559 *does* demand that Syria withdraw all military and intel forces from Syria (i.e. *that's* the half-true part), but what the BBC deliberately leaves out of their news story is the *other* half of the truth: that UN Resolution 1559 also demands that Hezbollah disarm.

Because quite frankly, the leftists at the BBC don't *want* their Hezbollah allies in Lebanon to disarm. Perhaps, they wish, if they simply don't remind their audience about the UN's demand for Hezbollah to disarm, then the outcry won't be very loud when Hezbollah *doesn't* disarm.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Kerry promises to sign form 180.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[Dog Gone]

Nonetheless, this is another small step toward a free Lebanon. Ensuring the integrity of the upcoming elections is even more critical than disarming Hezbollah. I hope we have plans to help.

Jimmy Carter as an observer is NOT what I'm thinking.

[Valin]

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm? You have to understand that if Syria follow through now, the UN will issuse a STRONGLY WORDED letter of protest. And we all know what a scarry thing that is. (shudder)

[SunkenCiv]

Fish in a barrel.