Post subject: U.S. Withdraws Ambassador From Syria
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 12:28 am
Got Some
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:52 pm Posts: 1727 Location: Earth Gender: Male
U.S. Withdraws Ambassador From Syria By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
02/15/05 "AP" -- WASHINGTON - The United States has recalled its ambassador to Syria amid rising tensions over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon.
Before departing, U.S. Ambassador Margaret Scobey delivered a stern note, called a demarche in diplomatic parlance, to the Syrian government, said an official who discussed the situation only on grounds of anonymity.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, announcing the move, said it reflected the Bush administration's "profound outrage" over Hariri's assassination.
Boucher did not accuse Syria of being involved in the bombing Monday in Beirut. "I have been careful to say we do not know who committed the murder at this time," he said.
But he said the deadly attack illustrated that Syria's strong military and political presence in Lebanon was a problem and had not provided security in the neighboring country.
"It reminds us even more starkly that the Syrian presence in Lebanon is not good," Boucher said. "It has not brought anything to the Lebanese people."
Boucher refused to describe Syria's rection to Scobey's diplomatic messages in Damascus. Syria has not yet taken any reciprocal action, such as withdrawing its own amabssador to Washington.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan, apparently referring to the note Scobey delivered to the Syrian foreign ministry, said the United States has "made it clear to Syria that we expect Syria to act in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and the disbanding of militias,"
Also, McClellan said, "we also made it clear to Sryia that we want them to use their influence to prevent the kind of terroist attack that took place yesterday from happening."
The administration had earlier condemned the killing of Hariri, a billionaire construction magnate who masterminded the recovery of his country, and insisted that Syria comply with a U.N. resolution calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
Hariri, like most Lebanese politicians, walked a thin line between criticizing Damascus and deferring to the country that plays a dominant role in Lebanon's affairs.
He resigned four months ago in light of tensions with Syria but was weighing a political comeback. A Sunni Muslim, Hariri was on good terms with Lebanese Christians and was especially close to French President Jacques Chirac, who has called for an international investigation into the assassination.
Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, who heads the Near East bureau, will attend Hariri's funeral, a gesture of U.S. respect for the former prime minister.
The administration did not directly support Chirac on his call for an international inquiry, but the White House said those responsible for the bombing of Hariri's motorcade must be punished.
In Washington for meetings with Vice President Dick Cheney and Rice, the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed About Gheit, said "it is still preamture to reach conclusions" about Hariri's assassination.
Speaking at the Brookings Institution thinktank, Gheit said he hoped it would not touch off a cycle of killings and push Lebanon into civil war.
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Ok, so the United States doesn't have to act in accordance to the U.N. Security Council. But Syria had better! More hippocritical statements from this Administration...
Is it common to recall Ambassadors? Due to a threat that hasn't been even confirmed to be Syrian related?
_________________ "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum." -Noam Chomsky
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 Posted: 9:01 AM EDT (1301 GMT)
Syrian soldiers hold portraits of late President Hafez Assad, left, and his son Bashar Assad as they leave Lebanon.
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- The last Syrian soldiers are reported to have left Lebanon, surrendering to international and Lebanese popular demands and ending its 29-year military presence in its smaller neighbor.
Syrians awaiting them waved flags as the troops crossed the border, The Associated Press reported. Earlier Tuesday, a formal ceremony marked the withdrawal in the Bekaa Valley.
About 400 Syrian and Lebanese forces assembled on the narrow parade grounds and were jointly reviewed by the chiefs of staff for each as dignitaries looked on.
The Syrian army Chief of Staff, Gen. Ali Habib, defended his country's nearly three decade stay, saying Lebanon was being left a stronger nation.
"It goes without saying that Syrian armed forces didn't enter Lebanon because they wanted to, but because of a call from the Lebanese government," Habib said. "Syria never had any desires or ambitions in Lebanon except to preserve it's unity."
Syrian forces controlled much of the country's affairs for 29 years, but pressure came for them to withdraw after former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated February 14 in a car bombing.
Many Lebanese people blamed Damascus for the killing, which sparked massive demonstrations calling for Syria to leave the nation.
Opposition groups also called on Lebanon's top security officials, all considered to be pro-Syrian, to resign.
On Monday, Lebanon's pro-Syrian security chief Jamil al-Sayyed quit after Syria over the weekend made its final push to jettison most remaining soldiers.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has dispatched a team to verify Syria's withdrawal.
A security council resolution adopted last September calls for the pullout of all foreign forces from Lebanon.
Syrians entered the country in 1976 as peacekeepers in the Lebanese civil war. By 1990, 40,000 Syrian troops remained.
Over the last 15 years, the number had decreased to 14,000.
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman said the nations will always be linked.
"Together comrades in arms against Israel ... a cooperative relationship in all areas together," he said. "To fend off all sectarianism and divisive forces. Our challenges are one. Our interests are one."
Key parliamentary elections are due to be held by May 29, two days before parliament's term ends.
Hariri was a key mover in getting a U.N. resolution to call on Syria to remove its troops and intelligence assets from Lebanon. Resolution 1559, passed last year, also called on Lebanon to disband guerrilla groups.
Hariri's death is at the center of an international investigation authorized by the U.N. Security Council.
A U.N. report released last month said the government of Syria "interfered" with governance in Lebanon in a heavy-handed way that was "the primary reason for the political polarization that ensued" before Hariri's death.
_________________ "Though some may think there should be a separation between art/music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest." - e.v.
There is a long list of Lebanese leaders assassinated in the last three decades of conflict in the country and in almost every case no one has been brought to justice and the responsibility has never been indisputably attributed to someone. Will it be different this time?
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