Syria Occupies Lebanon, World Shrugs
Charles Johnson
Thu Feb 6, 2003 at 2:09 pm PST • Views: 150
Claudia Rosett writes about an oppressed Arab population suffering under a brutal, murderous occupation: Pining for Freedom.
As one Lebanese political analyst explained it to me, Syria’s dictators, first the late President Hafez Assad, now his son Bashar Assad, have simply played their hands more cleverly than Saddam Hussein has. Saddam invaded Kuwait by way of a frontal assault. He provoked the Gulf War, and was driven back. By contrast, Syria got hold of Lebanon in the name of “peacekeeping” and has since been consolidating its grip, largely unchallenged by the world community.
On the matter of this outrageous occupation, there is from many quarters a disturbing indifference. From the Arab world, so full of dictators professing deep concern over democratic Israel’s dealings with the Palestinians, there comes not a croak of indignation that despotic Syria continues to occupy Lebanon. From the democratic club of nations comes the occasional groan, including noises recently from both Congress and the European Union. But there has been no serious effort to lever Syria out of Lebanon, or to end Syria’s support for Hezbollah—whose terrorists bombed the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks here in the 1980s, and today carry out assaults on Israel and threaten the U.S. itself.
Frank says: