US "Certain" Syrian Agents in Lebanon, "No Proof"

LONDON, June 23, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The United States intensified its rhetoric against Syria Thursday, June 23, with a senior official claiming Washington was "certain" Damascus still had intelligence agents in Lebanon, without giving details or evidence to support the claims.

The unnamed official's accusations were made after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks on Lebanon with her new French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy, who urged "firmness" with Syria in the coming days, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The unnamed State Department official told AFP the US administration was "deeply concerned" about the situation in Lebanon after the assassination of two prominent anti-Syrian figures this month.

Syria withdrew its last troops from Lebanon in April to end a 29-year military presence that helped put an end to Lebanese civil war.

But the US official alleged "there's no question that Syrian military intelligence agents have stayed behind and they are exerting a highly negative influence."

Washington previously said it only suspected Syrian intelligence agents had remained in Lebanon after the military pullout. But the senior official said Thursday "we are certain of it" without giving evidence or details.

He said no other country had disputed the US contention that Syrian agents were still operating in Lebanon.

Syria has said it complied with a UN resolution demanding full withdrawal from its tiny neighbour and the United Nations -- which has sent a verification team to the country -- has already backed the Syrian version.

France, Too

Meanwhile, Rice and Douste-Blazy earlier spoke at length about Lebanon at the US ambassador's residence in London, ahead of a meeting of Group of Eight foreign ministers.

Both reiterated a call for Syria to respect UN Security Council Resolution 1559 which their countries sponsored last year calling for a full withdrawal of all Syrian forces and an end to interference in Lebanon.

"We expressed concern about the assassinations that have been going on in Lebanon, about the need for Syria to make certain that all of its forces are withdrawn from Lebanon," Rice said.

Douste-Blazy urged the international community to be tough in dealing with Syria.

"Resolution 1559 must be respected and the firmness of the international community must be expressed in the coming days," the Frenchman said.

Last month, the United Nations said it was satisfied with Syria's compliance with resolution 1559, after sending a verification team to Lebanon.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Britain expected Syria -- "which continues to exercise a great deal of influence within Lebanon" -- to intervene to put a halt to political killings.

"We look to the Syrian government to do all that it can to ensure that those who are committed these outrageous assassinations stop and finish," Straw, who was chairing Thursday's G8 meeting, told reporters.

US officials have not directly attributed blame for the political assassinations in Lebanon but called them an attempt to intimidate Lebanese as the country moves ahead to form a new government.

The White House has angrily linked Tuesday's killing of former communist party leader George Hawi to Syria's "long and continued presence" in Lebanon and demanded a formal investigation

Enemies

But Syria, on its part, rejected the accusations saying it would be "stupid" to be involved in such ugly crimes at such times.

"Enemies of Lebanon's stability and prosperity are to blame for the political killings and the painful events," Syrian Minister of Information, Mahdi Dakhlallah, told Al-Jazeera Thursday, June 23.

The Syrian Minister considered it "stupid" to accuse Syria of being behind the current turmoil in Lebanon.

"It is in our best interest to see a stable Lebanon. We never tried to impose a certain political regime on our neighbor during our rescue mission that lasted 29 years therein, why would we do that now?" he charged.

Arab observers believe Syria can not be blamed for what is going on in Lebanon, citing lack of interest, especially with the growing pressure led by Washington and Paris.