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Nickdfresh
04-26-2005, 08:59 PM
5:13 PM PDT, April 26, 2005
Syrian Troops Complete Withdrawal from Lebanon


By Megan K. Stack, Times Staff Writer

RIYAQ, Lebanon -- The last Syrian soldiers and intelligence agents packed into scuffed buses and rumbled homeward over the border Tuesday, putting an end to 29 tumultuous years of Syrian military presence in Lebanon and marking a historic turning point in the Middle East.

Syria left behind a nation elated over its newfound independence, but uncertain and even frightened of how a liberated Lebanon will evolve.

The nation has finally struggled out of civil war and foreign domination, but remains shadowed with political uncertainty, sectarian divisions and the threat of violence.

Without falling back on Syrian patrons, a newly independent Lebanon will have to prepare for contentious parliamentary elections this spring.

The country also will have to grapple with the shifting role of the powerful Hezbollah party as it tries to strike a balance between its role as an armed, Syria-backed guerrilla militia and the most popular political force in the area.

"It's a victory day, an independence day. We're watching the return of the sovereignty to Lebanese territories," said Fares Souaid, a Maronite Christian lawmaker and prominent Syria opponent. "But now the Lebanese have to face their own problems, and to begin to build a new state."

For a short time Tuesday morning, in a pine-shaded military base in the Bekaa Valley, the tensions fell away as Lebanese and Syrian soldiers bid one another goodbye under a porcelain blue sky.

Most of the Syrian soldiers -- whose numbers in Lebanon peaked at 40,000 -- had already crossed the border, but the ceremony marked the formal end of Syria's military presence in Lebanon.

"Lebanon will endure. Its rocks, its mountains, its waters will stay," Syrian army chief Ali Habib said in farewell remarks before both armies. "And that's thanks to the Syrian military presence, which ensured the unity of Lebanon."

Habib spoke of the "deep, brotherly feelings" between Syria and Lebanon, and pledged that the relationship between the two countries would deepen in coming years. The army bands played both national anthems, medals were traded and each army lavished praise on the other.

Then the Syrian soldiers marched silently over the blacktop and clambered aboard buses plastered with the faces of Hafez and Bashar Assad for the ride home

DLR'sCock
04-26-2005, 10:05 PM
I know my Lebanese friends are happy about this.


Good....

larbo
04-27-2005, 09:38 PM
they better! they're about to get the smack put down on their dumb ass'.