Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
"Although [we] ha[ve] endorsed engagement with Syria, there can be no compromise on the work of the tribunal ... [A]nd there can be no retreat from Lebanon's right to sovereignty."In 2004, the U.N. Security Council resolved that Lebanon should hold free and fair elections "devised without foreign interference or influence." That promise has not been kept. Now the Cedar Revolution, which forced Syria to end its military occupation of Lebanon, is unraveling.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with [Prime Minister] Siniora on Tuesday in Paris, but where is the U.S. or U.N. plan for free Lebanese elections? If the Lebanese parliament cannot meet in Beirut without the fear of Hezbollah- or Syrian-inspired violence, and if the United Nations cannot guarantee its safety, then let the parliament sit in exile — perhaps in New York. Access the full article>>
