Syrians End Military Presence in Lebanon

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The party is over in Lebanon. But what does it all mean? Is this the beginning of warmer relations between Beirut and Washington, especially where Israel is concerned or will this be more of the same Islamist nationalism that tends to place itself against the interests of the US/Israel? One of the big questions is what about Hezbollah? That group is essentially the defacto army of militant Islam and its orders come from our seemingly newest target of pre-empitve agression, Iran.

Speaking of which, Iranian Foreign Minister KamalKharrazi on Saturday accused the United States of creating crisis in Lebanon, saying the Lebanese themselves should solve the country's problems, the official IRNA news agency reported. "The Americans are trying to create crisis in Lebanon and takeadvantage of critical situation there, while Lebanon's problems should be solved by its own people," Kharrazi was quoted as sayingin a meeting with leader of the Lebanon Socialist Progressive Party Walid Joumblatt. (xinhua.net)

Meanwhile, "Najib Mikati, Lebanon's prime minister designate, on Friday pledged that legislative elections would be held on time, while the country's two top security chiefs appeared on their way out - two key demands of the opposition and the US." (new.ft.com)

One can only hope that words, not bullets (as said in the in the new movie "The Interpreter") will be the norm in the coming years throughout the Middle East. This story out of Qatar may be a small bit of hope, "Lebanon’s Hezbollah said prisoner exchange negotiations with its arch-foe Israel were reaching a decisive stage but warned it could resort to force to free the last Lebanese detainees if talks failed." Threats of violence are the norm so to me the important thing here is that Hezbollah and Israeli officials are actually talking rather than shooting at one another.

Here is the full story from the AP:

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Syrian troops burned documents and dismantled military posts in their final hours in Lebanon Sunday, before deploying toward the border and effectively ending 29 years of military presence in the country.
A few score Syrian troops will remain in Lebanon for a farewell ceremony Tuesday that the Lebanese Army plans to hold in a town close to the Syrian border.

In Damascus, the Syrian capital, a government official said: "Within the next few hours, all the troops will be out of Lebanon."
"What will be left are those who will take part in the official farewell" on Tuesday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In the border town of Anjar, home of Syria's chief of military intelligence in Lebanon, Syrian officials appeared to be going about their business as usual Sunday.

But at the Deir el-Ahmar base, Syria's last major garrison in the Bekaa Valley, 15 tanks rolled on to flatbed trucks, ready for the drive home, witnesses told The Associated Press. Soldiers burned papers, knocked down walls and loaded ammunition on to trucks.

Syrian troops had already vacated at least 10 positions in the northern part of the Bekaa Valley on Saturday. Dozens of trucks carrying hundreds of soldiers and at least 150 armored vehicles, towing artillery pieces and rocket launchers, crossed the border into Syria, witnesses said.

"Tomorrow everything will be over," a Lebanese military officer said Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity, as is typical for military officials here.

On Tuesday, Lebanese troops at a base in Rayak, few miles from the Syrian border, will conduct a ceremony to pay tribute to the Syrian Army's role in Lebanon, a Lebanese military officer said.

Afterward, the token Syrian force will leave, and there will not be a single Syrian soldier left in Lebanon. The Syrians entered Lebanon in 1976, ostensibly as peacekeepers in the year-old civil war. After the war ended in 1990, 40,000 Syrian troops remained in Lebanon, giving Damascus the decisive say in Lebanese politics.

Syria began withdrawing from Lebanon last month following international and Lebanese pressure in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14.

In September 2004, when the number of Syrian troops in Lebanon stood at about 14,000, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution calling on Syria to withdraw all its troops and intelligence operatives.

Last week, Lebanese and Syrian officials said the remaining 1,000 troops would be gone by April 26.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said last week he was delaying until Tuesday the release of a report to the Security Council on Syria in Lebanon so he could confirm the full withdrawal.