Syria Out of Lebanon: Give Credit Where Credit is Due

[louis c]

With France, Germany, Russia and many middle Eastern Nations calling for Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon, thus ending its over 20 year occupation of that war torn country, many Conservative pundits have pointed to George Bush's policies in that region as the catalyst.

How absurd.

Since the beginning of history, every viable country in every region of the world has defied occupation from foreign nations, whether they came from thousands of miles away, or right next door.

If Syria has taught us anything, it is that human nature has not changed from the days of the Roman Empire, the American Revolution, WWII, the Viet Nam War, up to the break up of the Soviet Union.

People everywhere want to control their own destiny and will resist foreign occupation.

Including the American occupation of Iraq.

[Skittles]

1. bush "ordering" Syria out of Lebanon when HE ordered Iraq's occupation

the unmitigated gall is astounding

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. In as much as Syria knows it has to keep its head down

because Bush it looking for any excuse to bomb Damascus, Bush has something to do with it. While there's an uncontrollable international sociopath wandering round the world, countries change their behaviour.

But then, Bush only started invading countries, and threatening more, after 9/11. Should bin Laden get some credit for the withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon too? Maybe a joint Nobel Peace Prize for Osama and Dubya?

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Sort of like Reagan demanding, "Mr. Gorbachov, tear down this wall!"

and taking credit for reuniting Germany and destroying the Soviet Union singlehanded. Both events were in the works, and Reagan showed up to take credit.

[LynnTheDem]

4. bush says Lebanon CANNOT be democratic while 14,000 Syrian troops

occupy Lebanon...

Yet he also thinks Iraq CAN BE democratic with 150,000 US troops occupying Iraq.

Just more proof that bush is an incompetant fool of a total idiot.

[HamdenRice]

5. Yeah, right -- Syria out of Lebanon and Iran in!

This is what the MSM is not discussing. If Lebanon had elections tomorrow, do you know who would win?

Hezbollah is the biggest party in Lebanon. That's right, Hezbollah, which takes credit for terrorism against Israel, Hezbollah which is a pawn of Iran.

So shrub's grand strategy of bringing democracy to the ME has delivered not one but two countries -- Iraq and Lebanon --into Iran's lap.

Maybe that's why he is now so hellbent on bombing Iran -- because he made it the lynchpin of what King Abdullah of Jordan calls a potential Shiite crescent of instability stretching from the Afghanistan/Iran border to the Lebanese coast.

[Clark2008]

7. Very good point, Hamden!

You're exactly correct.
In all these "democratic" elections, the people are choosing groups who take a hard line AGAINST the United States.
Not that I blame them after 50-something years of regional oppression by Israel with United States backing, but it sure does nothing to protect the United States from terrorism.

[bigtree]

9. This is the most salient point

The ME is demonstrating that they prefer Muslim oriented government. Not bad if the U.S. stays out of the way and doesn't try to control events there. But that doesn't look possible as the administration (Scotty), only yesterday chided Iran for "interfering in the affairs of the emerging Iraqi government. I suspect that, in time, there will be similar admonitions towards Lebanon as Muslim oriented parties try to assume control there.

Reagan was keen on blaming all of the violence directed toward our troops that he had insinuated into Beruit on Muslim extremists sanctioned and aided, he said, from Syria. Of course, the only reason he had taken our troops there was to establish a base of influence that would be favorable to Israel. Everyone in the region recognized this and many took action to kick us back out.

Bush's goals in Lebanon are much the same; to reduce Syria's influence there, but since the Syrian Batthist-dominated government is actually not, as Israel and others in the administration claim, predisposed to support Muslim extremists, it's hard to view Bush's interest as anything other than muckraking and as an effort to destabilize Lebanon (re-ignite the civil strife between the Christians and the Muslims) and reenter Lebanon much as Reagan did under the pretext of peacekeeping. But as Reagan discovered, Bush's meddling will only be seen as favoring the interests of Israel. He should stop his blustering about missions from God and spreading democracy, and let these parties sort this out themselves. They seem to be doing just that without any help from our erstwhile Commander Bunnypants.

[Clark2008]

6. And considering that Lebanon is modeling itself after the Ukranian

revolution and not any American model, the statement comes across by the Middle Eastern people as more chest beating by the Chimp.
Again, the Lebanese revolution has to do with the assassination of Hariri, not as a result of anything the blivet has done.

[LynnTheDem]

8. Same thing as happened in Spain; bush-pal LIED, so Spanish voted him out

And of course the rightwingnuttery totally ignore every Spaniard who said they voted him out BECAUSE HE LIED TO THEM.

Nope, said the rightwingnuttery & bush & Cabal; the Spanish dunno what they're talking about. They kicked him out because they APPEASED the terraists.

ONLY AMERICANS know why other nations' citizens do anything, regardless of what those other nations' citizens say themselves.

Just like Libya said they were NOT giving up their "WMD" program because of bush & his illegal invasion of Iraq & that bush and Iraq had nothing to do with it. The fact that the UK and Libya had been in talks and making deals for several years and it was Blair who finally arranged the deal in spite of bush was simply ignored by Americans.

But nope. Ignore what Libya says.

ONLY AMERICANS know why other nations' governments do anything, regardless of what those other nations' governments say themselves.

The majority of Iraqis did not want the US to invade and occupy Iraq; the majority of Iraqis view the US as occupiers not as liberators; the majority of Iraqis want the US the hell out of Iraq yesterday.

But nope. Ignore what the Iraqis say.

ONLY AMERICANS know why other nations' citizens do anything, regardless of what those other nations' citizens say themselves.

[Orangeone]

10. I would be cautious

It's good if Syria leaves Lebanon, but people are naive if they think that other outside powers wouldn't just come in and fill the void. I also believe that the protesters don't represent the majority of the Lebanese because they have been mostly Lebanese Christians and not the Shia.

[xpat]

11. Don't forget that

that cheering crowd in Beirut were Falangists. In more prosaic language, fascists. Is this an improvement? I'm willing to wager that the civil war will heat up as soon as the Syrians pull out. Look for a new Israeli invasion, too, unless they can install a puppet government in Beirut.

[seabeyond]

12. ari said it on jon stewart last nite

bush wants to make the story. not have reporters tell the story. before history even bares out, change the story before it gets out there. then you create all the story. immediately say bush did it, they dont have to go back to convince people, they have done it ahead of time

[chlamor]

13. A Franchised Revolution Is Coming

Branded "Cedar". Those massive marches as it turned out weren't so big and about the numerous signs in English. Hmmm?

From 'Ending Syria's Occupation of Lebanon: The U.S. Role', a report of a group chaired by Daniel Pipes and Ziad Abdelnour, in which is buried one of the real reasons for the current events in Lebanon and Syria:

"The Middle East faces the looming problem of water shortages because of both the area's hot and arid climate and its huge population growth. Aside from Turkey (which controls the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers) and Iraq (through which those two rivers flow), the only Middle Eastern country blessed with a substantial supply of fresh water is Lebanon. Its high mountain ranges capture and retain impressive amounts of snow and moisture for several months, much of which eventually feeds subterranean aquifers and artesian wells. The landscape is dotted with springs, small streams, rivulets, and several sizable rivers like the Litani. Between 80 and 90 percent of Lebanon's flowing water, though, is lost for that which is not absorbed into underground storage, ends up in the sea. Assuming all of Lebanon's future water needs can be met using half of this wasted amount, harnessing and distributing the remaining half to neighboring countries like Israel, Syria, and Jordan would be a significant step in alleviating the impending regional water shortage."