Monday, February 21, 2005
Is Lebanon the next "Iraq"?
You can almost feel a "Ukraine" or "Iraq" moment coming again, as the people of Lebanon, Christian and Muslim alike, rise up against their occupiers from Syria and demand an end to Syrian control and a free and democratic government.
I personally think that the murder of former PM Hariri was the straw that broke Assad's back. The Syrians know that they killed him, the Lebanese people know that they killed him, and even the French, stupider than a block of cement, know that the Syrians killed him.
Thousands in Lebanon Protest Government
Imagine for a moment - had Hariri not been killed, would the UN be pressuring Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon? Would Kofi Annan, busily trying to avoid questioning the Oil-for-Food scandal while trying to keep Ruud "Rude" Lubbers on the payroll, even bother with a measly old UN resolution calling for an end to Syrian occupation of Lebanon? Don't bet on it.
And now Christian leader Michel Aoun says that he will return to Lebanon and run for President - and even he blames the Syrians for Hariri's death. And now Aoun says that he will demand an end to the Syrian occupation before the new Lebanese elections - and those are in May of this year.
Syria and Iran are banding together to "face external threats." Led by President George W. Bush, this "external threat" is called freedom.
You can almost feel a "Ukraine" or "Iraq" moment coming again, as the people of Lebanon, Christian and Muslim alike, rise up against their occupiers from Syria and demand an end to Syrian control and a free and democratic government.
I personally think that the murder of former PM Hariri was the straw that broke Assad's back. The Syrians know that they killed him, the Lebanese people know that they killed him, and even the French, stupider than a block of cement, know that the Syrians killed him.
Thousands in Lebanon Protest Government
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Tens of thousands of opposition supporters shouted insults at Syria and demanded the resignation of their pro-Syrian government in a Beirut demonstration Monday, marking a week since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Beating drums and waving Lebanese flags, those of their own parties and portraits of past leaders killed during the 1975-90 civil war, the protesters gathered at the site where Hariri was killed Feb. 14 in a bombing that the opposition blames on Damascus.
Some in the crowd yelled "Syria out!" and "We don't want a parliament that acts as a doorkeeper for the Syrians," competing with loud insults shouted against Syrian President Bashar Assad.
In Damascus, Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Syria will "soon" take steps to withdraw its army from Lebanese areas in accordance with a 1989 agreement. It was not clear whether that meant Syria would completely leave Lebanon as demanded by the international community.
Moussa spoke after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Syria itself has made no announcements about troop withdrawals.
Imagine for a moment - had Hariri not been killed, would the UN be pressuring Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon? Would Kofi Annan, busily trying to avoid questioning the Oil-for-Food scandal while trying to keep Ruud "Rude" Lubbers on the payroll, even bother with a measly old UN resolution calling for an end to Syrian occupation of Lebanon? Don't bet on it.
And now Christian leader Michel Aoun says that he will return to Lebanon and run for President - and even he blames the Syrians for Hariri's death. And now Aoun says that he will demand an end to the Syrian occupation before the new Lebanese elections - and those are in May of this year.
Syria and Iran are banding together to "face external threats." Led by President George W. Bush, this "external threat" is called freedom.
