by Robert Fisk
They will bury Rafik Hariri today beside the city he rebuilt and next to the ruins of the Roman columns that made ancient Beirut famous. But his violent death on Monday has repercussions that go far further east than Lebanon or the Roman empire; for his killing is intimately linked to the insurgency in Iraq–and President Bush’s belief that Syria is encouraging the guerrilla war against US troops in the country.

American pressure on Syria to withdraw its military forces from Lebanon–a cause that Mr Hariri, for quite different reasons, supported–is part of Washington’s attempt to smother Syria’s supposed sympathy for the bloody and increasingly efficient insurgency in Iraq.

Last night, Washington announced the withdrawal of its ambassador to Damascus. It was the clearest sign so far that the US is going to accuse Syria of Mr Hariri’s murder.

Israel, predictably, chose the same moment to add new pre-conditions for any peace talks with Syria: expulsions of “terrorist headquarters” from Damascus, “allow the Lebanese Army to deploy its forces along the border with Israel”, and “end the Syrian occupation of Lebanon”.

Israel, which occupied part of Lebanon for 24 years, then demanded the “expulsion” of Iranian Revolutionary Guards–who in reality left Lebanon more than 15 years ago. In harness with the Americans, the Israeli threat–especially the specious references to Iranians no longer in Lebanon–represents a grave deepening of the crisis.
Full Article: counterpunch.org

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