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Syria Ends 29-Year Presence in Lebanon

Samer Zouehid - 5/2/2005

Lebanon witnessed a truly historic day on Tuesday, April 26, as the last of the Syrian army crossed the border the notion of a truly sovereign Lebanon became a reality. As Syria's 29 year presence in Lebanon ended, there were truly mixed emotions within the country. Syria sacrificed around 10,000 troops during the civil war in an attempt to bring stability to the war torn country. However, after a series of events which culminated in the assassination of late Premier Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese began to despise Syria's presence.

The ceremony held in the eastern Bekaa valley to mark the end of Syria's presence in Lebanon attempted to mask over the international pressure Syria has come under to withdraw from Lebanon and insure the Syrian military left Lebanon with dignity. In his speech, the Syrian army Chief of Staff General Ali Habib placed a lot of emphasis on the sacrifices Syria has made to ensure Lebanon's stability, and rightly so. In talking about Syria's relationship with Lebanon, he noted its historical significance while highlighting that there are a lot of branches between the two countries relationships. This is an indication of the tasks ahead for the opposition if is truly willing to eradicate Syria's dominant influence on Lebanon. Historically, geographically, economically the two countries are intertwined. To claim that Syria's role in Lebanon is over is naive; however the key for the opposition is redefining the relationship to that of two equal partners. It will truly take time to weed out all the intelligence agents out of different institutions within the corridors of power, but how much sway they hold is debatable now that their masters have withdrawn from Lebanon.

The opposition is truly at a crossroads after Tuesday's events. All their key demands have been met, or are in the process of being achieved: the call for intelligence chiefs to step down, an international investigation into Hariri's murder, a free and fair election to be held on time, and the complete withdrawal of all Syrian troops from Lebanon. Now that all their demands have been met, will they dissolve like so many other coalitions of the past or will they become a coherent and effective bloc. It is one thing to organize demonstrations, but is another to come to a consensus on formulating policies in parliament. One worrying sign for the opposition is up to date there has been no clear policies on any issues, such as economic policies, policies on education, health and the issue of Palestinian status in Lebanon.


General Habib's speech neglected to elaborate on the current reality of Syria's withdrawal. The general emphasized that this withdrawal was planned under the Taif Accord, and contrary to negative media reports it is not the intense international pressure that has lead to this day. The reality is that it was a series of blunders in Syria's handling of Lebanon that has caused this hasty withdrawal. The extension of President Lahoud's mandate for another three years in 2000 gave rise to new phenomena in Lebanon; public criticism of Syria's role in Lebanon. As the opposition's criticism of Syria became louder and more frequent, the assassination of Hariri gave momentum to unprecedented pressure from within Lebanon as well as outside it, especially from America, for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. Syria has been on the defensive ever since as America steps up the heat on the regime in Damascus. With the neo-conservative ideology of regime change, and the assumption that repression is the cause of terrorism, Washington has Damascus in its sights, and Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon won't change that. Even as Syria was withdrawing the last of its last troops, Washington warned that Syrian intelligence officers are re-establishing contacts in Lebanon and setting up offices in private homes. President Bush also claims that Syria is funding the insurgency in Iraq and allowing insurgents to cross their border into Iraq at will. It is become evident through President Bush's rhetoric in the last few weeks that Washington's distaste for the Damascus regime maybe irreversible, regardless of the concessions made by Syria. Whether democracy in the Middle East is spreading is debatable, but what is clear is the Middle East is changing, not so much through internal reforms like one would hope for, but from pressure or direct intervention from Washington.

The Withdrawal saw part of resolution 1559 accomplished, however, America and her allies are now turning their attention to the disarmament of Hezbollah. How much pressure America puts on Hezbollah will only be know in the upcoming weeks. However the anti-Hezbollah propaganda is already in full swing. President Bush, in an interview with LBC, labeled them as a terrorist group denting the aspirations of a free Lebanon. The western media has also portrayed Hezbollah as a Syrian and Iranian design, constructed to put pressure on Israel's Galilee region. However the reality is not as clear cut, as here in Lebanon Hezbollah is viewed as a much different entity. Hezbollah has gone through many changes in the past twenty years, from an underground guerilla group to a well organized, cohesive group that has popular support not only among the Shia but other factions in Lebanon as well. It was credited as being the resistance that ended the Israeli occupation. Hezbollah has seats in parliament, and provides a variety of social services such as health care, which adds to its legitimacy in Lebanon. The common assumption made in the western media is Hezbollah's allegiance with Syria is a sign that it's controlled by its neighbor. However, Hezbollah prides itself as being a nationalist movement, championing the Lebanese cause for tolerance in the form of respecting its unique diversity. Hezbollah is in a period of transition at the moment, and it has to find a way to still retain its support from its followers by sticking to the ideology that made it popular, and at the same time transforming into a cohesive political party that is seen as legitimate in the west.

April the 26 is already a momentous day in Lebanon's turbulent history, but one questions whether the day of international interference in Lebanon's domestic affairs is truly over, even if all foreign troops have left its soil.