[Mb-civic] Washington tells Syria to withdraw army from Lebanon

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Washington tells Syria to withdraw army from Lebanon
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
18 February 2005

Washington tells Syria to withdraw army from Lebanon

Leading article: The Bush administration must be careful not to start more
fires in the Middle Eastindependent portfolio

President George Bush has called on Syria to withdraw its troops from
Lebanon - the latest effort by Washington to increase pressure on a country
it accuses of supporting terrorism. Mr Bush said Syria should adhere to a UN
resolution demanding it withdraw the troops it has had in Lebanon for the
past three decades.

Since the assassination on Monday of the former Lebanese Prime Minister,
Rafik Hariri, in Beirut, the Bush administration has noticeably increased
its rhetoric towards Syria, blurring the lines between the words it actually
uses and the meaning it wishes to imply. Two years ago, the administration
used a similar tactic to suggest Saddam Hussein was involved in the attacks
of 11 September.

On Wednesday, for instance, while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
declined to explicitly blame Syria for Mr Hariri's death, she sought to put
pressure on the Damascus government over this issue. "We have been very
clear that we don't know who is responsible for the bombing," she told a
Senate committee.

"But the Syrians - given their position in Lebanon, given their interference
in Lebanese affairs, given the fact their forces are there, given the
terrorists that operate in southern Lebanon with Syrian forces in close
proximity to them - does put on the Syrians a special responsibility for the
kind of destabilisation there."

Mr Bush, happy to cite UN resolutions when they suit US needs, continued in
similar style yesterday and said the US would work with other countries in
the region to put pressure on Syria to withdraw its troops. "I can't tell
you yet [if Syria was behind Monday's killing]. I don't know that. I'm going
to withhold judgment until we know what the facts are." He went on to say he
believed that Syria, which the US lists as a state sponsor of terrorism, was
"out of step with the progress being made in the greater Middle East".

The US has been quick to seize on Mr Hariri's death to build momentum in its
efforts to pressure Syria, which it also accuses of acting as a safe haven
for insurgents in Iraq. This week, the US withdrew its ambassador in an
attempt to try to isolate Syria.

At the same time, Syria has been looking for support from countries in the
region. On Wednesday, Iran - another country facing intense US pressure and
claims about its support of terrorism - announced it would form a united
front with Syria against US threats.

Yesterday, Iran's former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, called on other
countries such as Iraq and Lebanon to strengthen their links with Iran and
Syria to create a closer alliance.

The US is considering a number of options in regard to Syria - the freezing
of its assets, further diplomatic withdrawal or tightening of sanctions.

Last May, the Bush administration imposed sanctions that blocked exports
with the exception of food and medicine and some observers have said it
would be difficult to impose further restrictions.

Daniel Byman, a Middle East expert at the Brookings Institution in
Washington, said the US was cleverly focusing on an issue on which Syria was
widely condemned - its occupation of Lebanon - to increase pressure and try
to achieve results on other issues.

"There is a definite attempt to ratchet up the pressure but there is little
support for this outside of the US," he said.

Mr Bush said he would consult with allies about Syria when he visits Europe
next week. As with Iran, Europe's approach to dealing with Syria has been in
sharp contrast to that of the US.
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