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Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050321-072847-1382r.htm
Is Syria Reforming?
(UPI/Washington Times)Claude Salhani - Syria's surprisingly swift acceptance to withdraw its troops and intelligence units from neighboring Lebanon after nearly 30 years came about so suddenly, and unfolded so smoothly, that some analysts suspect it might be just a little too easy. What really drives Syria's ambitions to remain in Lebanon is as much economic as it is political. For the past 30 years, Lebanon has represented a sacred cash cow for the limping statist Syrian economy. "The revenue generated from Lebanon is as important to the Syrian economy as oil is to Saudi Arabia," said a European diplomat.