WESTFIELD, N.J. Mar 4, 2005 — President Bush on Friday flatly rejected any partial withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, saying he will not accept the kind of "half-measures" Damascus is expected to propose as a compromise.
"There are no half-measures at all," Bush said during an event here on his Social Security proposals. "When the United States and France say withdraw, we mean complete withdrawal, no halfhearted measures."
During a speech Saturday to his parliament, Syrian President Bashar Assad was expected to announce a troop pullback to eastern Lebanon near the Syrian border but not a full withdrawal, according to Syrian and Lebanese officials.
"We need to see action, not words," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said a day ahead of that speech.
A fellow Arab nation, Saudi Arabia, has also called on Syria to pull out. On Thursday, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah told Assad their relations will suffer if Syria doesn't start soon on a complete withdrawal, a Saudi official said.
Bush welcomed that new pressure, saying he was pleased to hear the same message from Saudi Arabia that has been pressed by a growing list of nations.
"Syria, Syrian troops, Syria's intelligence services, must get out of Lebanon now," the president said. "The world is beginning to speak with one voice. We want that democracy in Lebanon to succeed, and we know it cannot succeed so long as she is occupied by a foreign power and that power is Syria."
LOL! The only people who listen when Bush speaks are a bunch of whacktoides who wouldn't know the truth if it slapped them in the face!When Bush speaks - Syria listens.
I love it! Pay attention Jay, this is history in the making and it is awesome !"Syria, Syrian troops, Syria's intelligence services, must get out of Lebanon now," the president said. "The world is beginning to speak with one voice. We want that democracy in Lebanon to succeed, and we know it cannot succeed so long as she is occupied by a foreign power and that power is Syria."
You want me to pay attention? This is not history in the making! This is history repeating itself! The Fuhrer just has a different name, but the same family is involved!Squawker said:I love it! Pay attention Jay, this is history in the making and it is awesome !
Only if you hate the US. We are there to liberate not occupy.Jaymo said:We want that democracy in Lebanon to succeed, and we know it cannot succeed so long as she is occupied by a foreign power and that power is Syria."
The same could be said of Iraq if we changed the name of the Country involved in the occupation!
:drink :drink :drink LOL!Squawker said:Only if you hate the US. We are there to liberate not occupy.
'Liberate' obviously has quite a broad definition. We've killed 17,000 civilians, but it's OK because we liberated the country? Can you really call a country liberated when the army of another country patrols its streets?Squawker said:Only if you hate the US. We are there to liberate not occupy.
We have killed 17,000 innocents? How many innocent people did Saddam kill? Do you have that number also, or are you just going to single out the US? Liberate means to "free" and in this case from a brutal dictator. We did that, and our presence is meant to protect the people from terrorist groups that would occupy the country. You can't see the difference?anomaly said:'Liberate' obviously has quite a broad definition. We've killed 17,000 civilians, but it's OK because we liberated the country? Can you really call a country liberated when the army of another country patrols its streets?
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria will start pulling back its forces in Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley Monday, Lebanon said, in the first stage of what Syria says will be a swift two-phased withdrawal of its troops.
"The withdrawal starts tomorrow," Lebanese Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Mrad told Reuters, adding that forces would retreat from northern Lebanon and Mount Lebanon in accordance with the Taif Accord that ended Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.
Under intense global pressure, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced plans Saturday for a complete pullout of troops from Lebanon but said Damascus would still play a role in its neighbor's affairs.
Mrad said Sunday the pullback would start immediately after a meeting in Damascus between the leaders of both countries to approve Assad's withdrawal plan.
The Lebanese press described the plan as a historic move opening a new chapter after 30 years of Syrian domination.
Lebanese greeted Assad's announcement with screams of delight in central Beirut, while opposition figures in Lebanon and European leaders cautiously described the move as positive.
Washington, which says Syrian "support for terrorism" impedes Middle East peace, dismissed Syria's plan as inadequate and reiterated its call for a complete and immediate withdrawal.
"We wake up in Lebanon today to a new political reality, the opening of a new phase in the country's history," As-Safir newspaper said in a front-page editorial Sunday. Al-Mustaqbal daily labeled the announcement "a historic event."
Squawker said:We have killed 17,000 innocents? How many innocent people did Saddam kill? Do you have that number also, or are you just going to single out the US? Liberate means to "free" and in this case from a brutal dictator. We did that, and our presence is meant to protect the people from terrorist groups that would occupy the country. You can't see the difference?
Says the 300,000 men, women, and children found in mass graves.GarzaUK said:Ironically everyday life was better under Saddam
Rape rooms.GarzaUK said:Plus when Saddam was in power there was
GarzaUK said:I'm saying Batman that the world's only superpower has failed the Iraqi people in some aspects. Freedom is great, but people need clean water to survive lol lol. You have to admit that the Bush Administration has made quite a few mistakes in Iraq. If you can't admit that, your denial and your biaism astounds me.
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