U.S. And France AGREE: Syrian Troops Should Quit Lebanon

You know Syria is in trouble when the United States and France AGREE on a demand: it’s time to quit Lebanon.



One day after the pro-Syrian Lebanese government bit the dust amid angry demonstrations, the U.S. and France called on Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon ASAP:

In a joint appearance before reporters, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Michel Barnier, the French foreign minister, who are here for a one-day conference on supporting the Palestinian Authority, demanded the “immediate withdrawal of all Syrian military and intelligence forces from Lebanon.”



“There cannot be any pretexts, any excuses not to carry it out,” Mr. Barnier insisted, while promising that France and the United States would seek ways to guarantee Lebanon’s security and independence.

And U.S. officials upped the ante, by endorsing international observers for free elections in Lebanon:

Ms. Rice said that Washington would support sending international observers for Lebanon’s elections in May and that sending international peacekeepers to take the place of departing Syrian forces was under consideration.



“Events in Lebanon are moving in a very important direction,” Ms. Rice said. “I think we have to look at what can be done in terms of helping them to stabilize the situation should that become necessary.”



A senior administration official added, “Realizing how difficult it will be for the Lebanese government to extend its authority over the whole country” once the Syrian troops leave, “we will look at a range of things we can do to help them.”

All of this taken together shows how much of an international pariah Syria has become — a development that should greatly limit its leeway in promoting violence in Israel and (at the very least) enabling the “insurgents” in Iraq.



As the Guardian puts it:”Syria found itself increasingly isolated yesterday as the US and France stepped up their pressure for withdrawal of its forces from neighbouring Lebanon.”