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Syria moves intel headquarters to Hizbullah sector in Beirut
Pro-democracy celebrations in Beirut may be premature.
Syria has moved its intelligence headquarters to a Beirut neighborhood controlled by Hizbullah. Lebanese opposition sources said the Syrian military moved office in Lebanon from the so-called Beaurivage to southern Beirut. The sources said the transfer was completed over the last week as part of an effort to lower the Syrian profile in Beirut and central Lebanon.

The sources said Syria maintains up to 50,000 intelligence agents — both Lebanese and Syrian — to ensure its control over its western neighbor. "The Syrians aren't going anywhere," an opposition source with connections in Lebanese intelligence said. "They are fusing with Hizbullah while pretending to pull out some troops from Lebanon."

The sources said the order to leave the Beaurivage was relayed by Gen. Rustom Ghazaleh, chief of Syrian intelligence in Lebanon. The operation was commanded by Ghazaleh's deputy, Gen. Mohammed Khalouf.

The Syrian move to the southern suburb of Beirut was part of heightened cooperation between Damascus and Hizbullah to maintain the Syrian military and intelligence presence in Lebanon. The Beaurivage continues to be under Syrian control, the sources said. But the building has been emptied of documents and equipment.

The Lebanese opposition, in an assertion confirmed by Western intelligence agencies, said Syria has been organizing a campaign to attack anti-regime elements. The opposition said Syrian intelligence plans to intimidate or assassinate anti-Syrian candidates for Lebanon's parliament in elections called for May 2005.
Standard operating procedure for the Syrian Ba'athists.
Another option raised by Lebanese and Western sources was that Syria would seek a Hizbullah provocation along the Israeli-Lebanese border over the next few weeks. The sources said Israel's military shared this assessment.
Posted by: Steve White 2005-03-13
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=58739