BEIRUT — US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns called yesterday for an "immediate and complete" withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Speaking in Beirut as slain former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Al Hariri was laid to rest, Burns said: "Mr Hariri's death should give renewed impetus to achieving a free, independent and sovereign Lebanon. "What this means is the immediate and complete implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1559, and what that means is the complete and immediate withdrawal by Syria," Burns said after talks with Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud.
| Very interesting how the US has used events, quiet diplomacy, and clear thinking from the top to put Syria in the cross-hairs. And how avidly the Syrians have cooperated. |
Meanwhile, Syrians said the Lebanese, who chanted anti-Syrian protests at the funeral of Hariri, would tear each other apart if Syrian troops left. "If they feel this way, then I say we should withdraw and let them break each other like falling water melons," said a student in Damascus who gave his name as Amjad.
| Who's your daddy, Amjad, and what's his rank in the Syrian intelligence services? |
Burns said Washington and the world would monitor Lebanon closely as it prepares to hold parliamentary elections in spring. "The Lebanese must be allowed to make their own political choices and to conduct elections free of foreign interference," Burns said.
"Today Americans join the international community in stressing the urgent importance of conduct a serious and credible investigation to bring those responsible for this act of terrorism to justice," Burns said adding that his country was ready to help.
Hammoud told Burns that Interior Minister Suleiman Franjiyeh had insisted on Beirut's opposition to an international probe of the Hariri bombing. "An international inquiry is unacceptable. If necessary, we will ask for experts from neutral countries," Franjiyeh had said on Tuesday.
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