Will Syria be finally held accountable? Will Syria’s past catch up with her?  

In the last few weeks, we have witnessed the Syrian regime being exposed by US politicians and in the spot light of the American media like we’ve never seen before. What the media shared with us about the Syrian regime’s past and present activities was the tip of the iceberg. And as expected, we have seen the Syrian regime perform in the same old fashion that we have been accustomed to from Syria: Deny, deny & deny. 

Syrian officials have recently been the guests of many media outlets, in a desperate campaign to spare their image in the American public eyes. Let me share with you some of what the Syrian government officials stated recently: 

• When asked about the oil pipeline that runs from Iraq to Syria (fully operational since 1998) which is in clear violation of the UN Sanctions against Iraq, one Syrian official stated his government never purchased oil from Iraq (estimated at 200,000 barrels per day), and that the pipeline was used for exploration purposes, nothing more.

• Syrian government officials unequivocally denied the fact that Syria is harboring Iraqi government officials inside Syria. When pressured by the US, Syria expelled a few low-level Iraqi officials back into Iraq. Syria stalled the U.S. long enough to allow the high-level Iraqi officials to enter Syria and be processed out of Syria en route to unknown destinations in other rogue states.
• A Syrian official stated that Syria, unlike Iraq, is not in violation of a UN resolution. This Syrian official needs to be reminded of UN resolution 520, which many years ago called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon, and as of today, Syrian forces continue to have a tight grip on Lebanon. During his recent Middle East trip, Secretary Powell stated at a press conference in Lebanon that the United States wants to see a Lebanon free from all foreign forces. Those same words were voiced many times over the last 25 years by many U.S. European officials; will this time be any different?
• The same Syrian official bluntly stated that Syria does not occupy a neighboring country. Not only Syria occupied Lebanon for so many years and continues to do so today, it has managed to tarnish Lebanon’s image in the International community, sub-leased parts of Lebanon to terrorist groups, destroyed Lebanon’s economy and silenced its freedom and democracy loving people.
• Several Syrian officials denied that Syria possesses weapons of mass destruction. Never mind the Iraqi WMD transported to Syria over the last couple of years. When confronted about their WMD program, Syria’s defense was to propose a “Middle East that is free of WMD” and that “Israel, not Syria, possesses Weapons of Mass destruction”. Syria never fully denied possessing WMD, but rather alleged that Israel has these weapons, a diversion tactic that we have all come to be accustomed to.

These remarks were only made recently, but they are a repeat behavior of what Syria has managed to do for so many years: Deny. The $64,000 question is “can Syria be trusted?” 

For the first time in as many years, we have witnessed an unprecedented pressure exerted by the US administration on the Syrian regime. And when Syria was confronted, cornered and pressured in the past, Syria always found ways to produce some of the “goods” that the Americans wanted. Syria has so many “treats” for the US administration, and will use every lifeline in its arsenal to spare its regime from humiliation.   

The American officials and U.S. media should do more to educate the American public about Syria’s past and present, highlight Syria’s occupation of Lebanon and emphasize that Syria is the root cause of chaos in Lebanon. Congress must pass the recently introduced Syria Accountability and Lebanon Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003. For the best outcome to prevail in the Middle East, the pressure must be sustained on Syria. America must not budge and must not fall for the Syrian trap, again. The Lebanese did, when they allowed the Syrians to intervene with their affairs, and that trust caused the Lebanese three decades of war, hatred, blood shed, and destruction. And to put things into perspective, the price that Lebanon paid as a result of trusting Syria, in terms of proportionate numbers, is equivalent to twelve million American lives. 

Syria must be given a time table of six-months to get out of Lebanon, but Syria must not do so until three objectives are fully met and in the following order: 

Ø      Syria must single handedly flush out the Hezbollah militias from Lebanese soil. Syria allowed Hezbollah to operate from Lebanon, and because Syria created this monster for Lebanon and the world, Syria must be awarded the task of disarming them.  

Ø      Next, Syria must allow the Lebanese army to deploy on all Lebanese soil to restore security and stability to the entire country, including South Lebanon. Doing so will lessen the concerns that some critics have about the consequences of a sudden pullout of Syrian troops from Lebanon. The diverse people of Lebanon will not resort back to fighting as we witnessed during the bitter civil war days, and they must be given a chance to coexist in peace and harmony. 

Ø      Finally, Syria must allow the Lebanese army to enter the Palestinian refugee camps to search for and arrest outlaws and criminals and confiscate illegal weapons. These camps are on Lebanese soil, and Lebanese authority must be restored to every square foot of Lebanese territory.  

If Syria does not adopt the new path of peace and democracy, it will have to adapt to it sooner or later. Syria’s commitment to a twelve-step recovery program starts with the fulfillment of the three steps highlighted above, which will no doubt lead to a better future for the Syrians and Lebanese alike.    

So how will America and the Free World benefit from a democratic Lebanon?  Unlike Iraq or Afghanistan, which demanded multi-billion dollar defense budgets and the mobilization of nearly one third of our military resources, Lebanon will be a low-maintenance fix. By preserving freedom and democracy to a weak, tiny, non-oil producing Lebanon, the United States will show the world that is not always about oil. Oil or no Oil, America will defend freedom no matter what.

© Copyright 1997-2004 United States Committee For A Free Lebanon. All rights reserved.

Would you like to comment on this article?

USCFL Home     Golden Circle     Membership     Mission Statement   Current Views
US Testimonies     Intelligence  Special Reports    Activities    Action Alerts    Selected Links
Selected Readings      Guestbook     FAQs     How to Contact Us     Search