President Michel Suleiman...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too...
telephoned on Thursday his Syrian counterpart Bashir al-Assad to condemn the twin Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
kabooms that took place earlier in the day.
He told Assad: "Bombings that have cost the lives of several civilians are not the proper way to achieve democracy."
"The only way to reach democracy lies in national dialogue, where issues can be discussed soundly and calmly through civilized means," he stressed.
These talks must ensure that the interests of Syria and its people are set above all others, remarked the president.
Two powerful blasts struck Damascus during morning rush hour on Thursday, killing at least 40 people, wounding dozens.
Suleiman had held talks earlier on Thursday with visiting Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who is in Leb to take part in the Arab Economic Forum.