U.S. To Syria: End The Occupation
American diplomats and US congressmen visiting in Syria this week appealed to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to pull his occupation troops out of Lebanon. Some consider this call nothing more than a "Zionist plot."
Vincent Battle, the US Ambassador to Beirut, was quoted this week in the Lebanese daily An-Nahar as saying that it was "time the Syrian army withdrew from Lebanon," and that only such a Syrian withdrawal would return complete sovereignty to Lebanon. The American legislators also reiterated the need for a Syrian withdrawal, saying they would take the issue directly to Assad.
The Lebanese English-language Daily Star reported, "Official [Syrian] media reports overlooked the issue of the Syrian presence here, in their account of discussions between Assad and a delegation of US congressmen in Damascus over the weekend." The paper reported that the "official Syrian news agency, SANA... said that the congressmen only discussed repercussions of the war in Iraq on neighboring states, and bilateral dialogue between Syria and the United States."
The apparent US concern for Lebanese independence was mocked by Lebanese officials, regarded as Syrian appointees in any case. Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri expressed skepticism about "US sentimentality for the Arab region." Akkar MP Mikhail Daher said that the congressmen were "trying to please the Zionist lobby," the Daily Star reported. Sunni Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani also condemned the statements, calling them the "latest proof of a US-Zionist war against Islam."
American diplomats and US congressmen visiting in Syria this week appealed to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to pull his occupation troops out of Lebanon. Some consider this call nothing more than a "Zionist plot."
Vincent Battle, the US Ambassador to Beirut, was quoted this week in the Lebanese daily An-Nahar as saying that it was "time the Syrian army withdrew from Lebanon," and that only such a Syrian withdrawal would return complete sovereignty to Lebanon. The American legislators also reiterated the need for a Syrian withdrawal, saying they would take the issue directly to Assad.
The Lebanese English-language Daily Star reported, "Official [Syrian] media reports overlooked the issue of the Syrian presence here, in their account of discussions between Assad and a delegation of US congressmen in Damascus over the weekend." The paper reported that the "official Syrian news agency, SANA... said that the congressmen only discussed repercussions of the war in Iraq on neighboring states, and bilateral dialogue between Syria and the United States."
The apparent US concern for Lebanese independence was mocked by Lebanese officials, regarded as Syrian appointees in any case. Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri expressed skepticism about "US sentimentality for the Arab region." Akkar MP Mikhail Daher said that the congressmen were "trying to please the Zionist lobby," the Daily Star reported. Sunni Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani also condemned the statements, calling them the "latest proof of a US-Zionist war against Islam."