Sources: Israel satisfied by U.S. decision to recall Syria envoy
By Aluf Benn and Nathan Guttman, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and News Agencies
Political sources in Jerusalem expressed satisfaction Tuesday at the decision by the United States to recall its envoy from Syria following the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut.
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"This step underscores our argument that Syria's intentions for peace must be treated with caution," the sources said.
Before departing, U.S. Ambassador Margaret Scobey delivered a stern note, called a demarche in diplomatic parlance, to the Syrian government, a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, announcing the U.S. move, said that it the Bush administration's "profound outrage" over Hariri's assassination.
The administration had earlier condemned Monday's killing in Beirut of Hariri, the billionaire construction magnate who masterminded the recovery of his country and insisted that Syria comply with a UN resolution calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said it was still unclear who was responsible for the attack but the United States was consulting with other members of the UN Security Council about how to pressure Syria to leave Lebanon.
"Syria's presence in Lebanon is a destabilizing force," McClellan said. "The terrorist attack further underscores the importance of letting the Lebanese people control their future."
The assassination of Hariri, 60, in a car bomb blast on Monday has spotlighted Lebanon's troubled ties with its powerful neighbor and revived memories of the 1975-90 civil war.
Boucher refused to blame Syria outright for the bombing in Beirut Monday. He would say only that it illustrates that Syria's strong military and political presence in Lebanon is a problem and has not provided security in the neighboring country.
"It reminds us even more starkly that the Syrian presence in Lebanon is not good," Boucher said. "It has not brought anything to the Lebanese people."
Boucher refused to describe Syria's reaction to Scobey's diplomatic messages in Damascus. Syria has not yet taken any reciprocal action, such as withdrawing its own ambassador to Washington.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan, apparently referring to the note Scobey delivered to the Syrian foreign ministry, said the United States has "made it clear to Syria that we expect Syria to act in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and the disbanding of militias,"
Also, McClellan said, "we also made it clear to Syria that we want them to use their influence to prevent the kind of terrorist attack that took place yesterday from happening ? Syria's presence in Lebanon is a destabilizing force," McClellan said. "The terrorist attack further underscores the importance of letting the Lebanese people control their future."
The administration had earlier condemned the killing of Hariri, a billionaire construction magnate who masterminded the recovery of his country, and insisted that Syria comply with a UN resolution calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
Hariri, like most Lebanese politicians, walked a thin line between criticizing Damascus and deferring to the country that plays a dominant role in Lebanon's affairs.
He resigned four months ago in light of tensions with Syria but was weighing a political comeback. A Sunni Muslim, Hariri was on good terms with Lebanese Christians and was especially close to French President Jacques Chirac, who has called for an international investigation into the assassination.
EU sees no immediate need to alter relations with Syria European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, meanwhile, said Tuesday that he sees no immediate need to change EU relations with Syria over the assassination.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Solana said he would also support an international investigation into the bombing.
Asked if Hariri's killing would change EU relations with Syria, Solana said: "At the moment we have not any reason why it should."
However, he said that could change depending on the results of investigations into Monday's bombing in Beirut. "At the end of the day, it depends on how the responsibilities on the assassination of Mr. Hariri are resolved," Solana said. "I hope very much that no country, no state has been involved in that terrible criminal act," he added.
Lebanon was in deep mourning for Hariri on Tuesday. Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam pointed the finger of blame at Israel.
Khaddam was among those who filed into Hariri's Beirut home to pay condolences. "This crime targeted the Lebanese dream, Lebanese security and Lebanese peace," said Khaddam, a personal friend of Hariri.
Asked about Syria's alleged role in Hariri's death, Khaddam said, "The Israelis have assassinated an entire people [the Palestinians] and an entire region. So we should expect the worst from them."
Speaking to foreign reporters on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said it was "unnecessary to respond" to accusations about Israeli complicity in the assassination. He said Lebanon is under full Syrian control.
"Israel is a peace-seeking country that strives to achieve peace with all Arab countries, including Syria," Sharon said when asked about the assassination.
He charged that Palestinian terror groups are headquartered in Syria, and in cooperation with Iran, directs Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
"Syria must allow the Lebanese army to deploy its forces along the border with Israel," he said, and remove its forces from Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559.
He said Lebanon is a center of terrorist activity, but "to say we are happy about that, we are not. It should not have happened."
Lebanese opposition leaders have bluntly implicated Syria in the attack, which Lebanese authorities said might have been a suicide bombing.
Police said the toll from Monday's bombing in downtown Beirut had climbed to 17 dead and about 120 injured. Responsibility claims by previously unknown Islamic militants were not considered credible, with Justice Minister Adnan Addoum warning they could be an attempt "to mislead the investigation."
Although most suspicion has fallen on Syria or its supporters in Lebanon, it was clear the possibilities also might include rogue Syrian intelligence operatives, or even factions among the country's myriad religious groups. The claims by Islamic militants also raised the possibility that Hariri had been targeted because of his close ties to Saudi Arabia - a top enemy of al-Qaida and other groups.
But Addoum, the justice minister, downplayed that possibility, and Hariri's political allies openly accused Syria and its Lebanese allies of being to blame.
Hariri's family on Tuesday also hinted at their possible role. Syria, which has 15,000 troops in Lebanon and has for years decided policy in the country, has denied any involvement in the assassination.
The interior minister said the bombing was the work of "international parties" and spoke of a network behind the assassination. He rejected a French call for an international investigation but welcomed any help from neutral international experts.
"This [Lebanese] regime is backed by the Syrians. This is the regime of terrorists and terrorism that was able yesterday to wipe out Rafik al-Hariri," Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said after presenting his condolences to Hariri's family in Beirut.
"I charge the Lebanese-Syrian police regime with the responsibility for Hariri's death," he said.
Exiled former general Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian and long-time foe of Syria, said Damascus was indirectly, if not directly, responsible for the politician's killing.
"There are many Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services working in Beirut and they control everything in the country. I don't think that if they were taking care of Hariri he would be attacked so easily," Aoun told Reuters by telephone.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told Israeli Army Radio in a call from Paris that Syria had an interest in stirring things up in Lebanon.
"The new situation in which Lebanon is facing elections is a situation that is uncomfortable for them [the Syrians]. The last thing they want is to leave Lebanon," Shalom said.
Mosque minarets across Beirut blared out readings from the Koran. Streets were deserted as schools, shops and offices shut for three days of official mourning. The Lebanese army went on alert ahead of Hariri's funeral, planned for Wednesday.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Hariri's southern hometown Sidon, shouting slogans blaming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for his death, witnesses said. Similar protests took place in Beirut on a smaller scale.
Syrian state media said Syria had embraced Hariri "as one of its own sons" and condemned his killing.
"Matters should be put on the right track - the real target of the assassination of Hariri is Lebanon and its national unity and civil peace," al-Thawra newspaper said.
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