Gary Fitleberg, April 26, 2005

A small surprise was in store for Syria.

The UN Security Council, once lead by one of the leading state supporters of terrorism Syria, narrowly adopted a resolution night telling Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, calling for the disbanding of Hezbollah and warning against outside interference in Beirut's upcoming presidential election.

The council voted 9-0 with six abstentions, the minimum vote possible, to approve the U.S.-drafted resolution after the United States, and (believe it or not) co-sponsor France agreed under pressure not to mention Syria by name. Syria is the only country with foreign forces in Lebanon.

This is the first ever Security Council resolution clearly directed against an Arab state.

This is also the first time the Security Council has addressed Hezbollah.

While Hezbollah is not mentioned by name, the resolution calls for the disbanding and disarming of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias. Diplomats and analysts said this is a direct allusion to Hezbollah

U.S. Ambassador John Danforth said that Israel followed its commitment to withdraw from Lebanon, and now Syria must as well.

In response to the resolution, Lebanon said the 17,000 Syrian soldiers were there at the government's request to protect against "radical action emanating from Israel." The troops have been there since the Lebanese civil war, which lasted from 1975 through 1990.

Brazil, the Philippines, Russia, Pakistan, Algeria and China abstained from the vote.

'Free and fair presidential elections'

The resolution, which also calls for "free and fair presidential elections," aims to head off a move in Lebanon's parliament to amend the constitution and extend the term of Syrian-backed Lebanese President Emile Lahoud for three years after his current six-year term expires in November.

Lebanon's 128-member assembly has set a vote on the constitutional change for Friday and officials said the amendment would easily win the required two-thirds majority.

"We believe Lebanon should be allowed to determine its own future and assume control of its own territory. Yet the Lebanese people are still unable to exercise their rights as a free people to make those choices and to take those steps as a nation," Danforth told the council.

"What the Lebanese people and we have witnessed over the past week in terms of Syrian actions is a crude mockery of this principle. It is clear that Lebanese parliamentarians have been pressured and even threatened by Syria and its agents to make them comply," Danforth said.

A senior Lebanese official asked council members to withdraw the resolution, saying the UN body had never interfered in this manner in the internal affairs of a member-state.

Mohammed Issa, Lebanon's secretary-general for foreign affairs, said Syrian troops were in the country at his government's request to protect against threats from Israel.

Syria certainly did not need to leave when Israel was still on Lebanese territory, he said. But the United Nations decided in 2000 that Israel had withdrawn and that its troops in the Shaaba farms area were in Syria, not Lebanon, unless the two countries decided to change the border, which they have not.

The time has come for Syria to end its state support of terrorism and its "occupation" of Lebanon or face serious consequences for its actions. The sooner the better.

Gary Fitleberg is a Political Analyst specializing in International Relations with emphasis on Middle East affairs.

Copyright © 2005 Gary Fitleberg