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Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=11227
Syria Has No Intention of Giving Up Lebanon
(Beirut Daily Star)Michael Young- Syrian officials know the status quo in Lebanon is untenable. Gone are the days when Lebanese politicians could mumble that the Syrian presence was "legitimate, necessary and temporary," and expect that people would swallow such mendacious murkiness. By insisting on extending the mandate of President Emile Lahoud, Syrian President Bashar Assad internationalized Syria's Lebanese involvement. A partial Syrian redeployment inside Lebanon, even the departure of most of its troops from Lebanon, may satisfy some Security Council members, perhaps even UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen (whose recent assertion that Syria was prepared to resume talks with Israel without condition was apparently a highly creative interpretation of his chat with Assad), but it won't end Lebanese discontent with the Syrian presence.