March 7, 2002

2:57 AM

Syria on Brink of Conflict Over LebanonFor reasons unkown to me, the Liberals (the Znetters) fail to mention this 30 thousand man troop occupation of Lebanon and focus on Israeli occupation of land taken in war; conservatives never mention this occupation. American political figures ignore or push this aside; and Arabs, about to meet in Beirut for their summit brush this aside, but for the Lebanese, a sore issue.
posted by Postroad (6 comments total)

Are we giving billions of dollars to syra, and practicaly unconditional military and diplomatic support?

Just checking.
posted by delmoi at 3:59 AM on March 7, 2002

Thanks Postroad for that trip on the time machine. I guess you couldn't post the top search result on Google for: Syria Lebanon troops withdrawal because it contradicted your troll? Or maybe because you just love to post news from the happier times of the year 2000? The ABC/Stratfor article you linked is from October 6, 2000; while the BBC report about Syrians leaving Beirut is from June 18, 2001.

[Matt, please do not delete this thread. While Postroad's link is old and of outdated news, and only his god knows of his motivations (hence, his definition of trolling), I think the Syria-Lebanon angle of the conflicts with Israel can turn into a decent discussion.]
posted by tamim at 5:12 AM on March 7, 2002

Here's a more recent story with some real news: Basher Assad, the Syrian president, has visited Lebanon.

Tamim, your story doesn't exactly contradict Postroad's since Syrian troops still oocupy much of Lebanon if not Beiruit, and Syria still has near complete control over Lebanon's fledgling government. The political relationship between Syria and Lebanon has not significantly changed since October 2000.

The good news is that Syria had already agreed that it will eventually withdraw its troops in the 1989 Ta'if Accord once the political situation normalizes. So, just by existing and ensuring a modicum of stability, the Lebanese government is putting pressure on Syria to withdraw.
posted by boaz at 6:16 AM on March 7, 2002

wow! you guy's sure now how to break an old man's heart! But Boaz: here too another link, gosh, this month's, and lo and behold: Syrian troops still packing but not yet leaving.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=251151
as for timelines: Israel has said it will wean itself off from all money from the U.S. within a time frame of five years. Now if giving help to a country means we have a right to be concnered with how it is doing politically etc, as in the first post, then why care about human rights in China? And in passing, we still give 2 billion (with a B) to Egypt and Egypt is intimately involved in what is taking place in the Middle East , as a helper in trying to calm things down, and a stronghold of anti-democracy things, such as justice, media, etc.
The US, now in the Philipines to root out terrorists, left that place where we had many troops (including my son) because they no longer wanted us occupying their country.
This plaintive cry of innocense is not to be taken as a troll. As the zen saying has it: ne man's troll is another man's goal.
posted by Postroad at 8:00 AM on March 7, 2002

Postroad, could it be that there's a very good reason why 'liberals' do not harp on the Syrian occupation? That the Syrian occupation has to do with tanks and men, and not administrative control, arrests, checkpoints, shooting unarmed civilians, humiliating the local population, demolishing their homes, and taking their land to build colonies.

All this post says to me is that you are trying to run interference away from Israel's occupation of the W. Bank and Gaza strip. It is 100% intellectual dishonesty to ask why 'liberals' (the Znetters) are 'ignoring' this occupation. When Syria starts confiscating land, building settlements, and terrorizing the local population, then you've got something.

And besides, if you really want a story that's anywhere near equivalent to the Israeli occupation, you'll want Western Sahara and Morocco. And I believe 'the liberals' have noticed this one.
posted by cell divide at 9:04 AM on March 7, 2002

Hint: For quick, intelligible results, run "syria lebanon troops withdrawal"
as a Queryserver news search.
posted by sheauga at 1:31 PM on March 7, 2002