(Weekly Standard) Olivier Guitta - Two recent reports in the Lebanese press suggest that there may be less to Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon than meets the eye. First, the daily Al Seyassah reported that, according to sources close to the Lebanese Ministry of Interior, tens of thousands of Syrians have recently been naturalized. Among them are 5,000 Syrian Secret Service personnel. So, technically these officers are now Lebanese citizens with no reason to leave their "own country." Second, according to An-Nahar, Lebanese police in Beirut arrested a Lebanese Army car occupied by two Syrian military officers. Meaning that Syrians can also infiltrate the Lebanese Army and pose as legitimate Lebanese. It looked too easy when Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator, decided to withdraw his troops from Lebanon.
2005-04-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive