Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah's fiery speech received muted international reaction with few voices renewing calls for an "immediate" pullout of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
| Seeing all those Hezbodies in the streets toned down the euphoria among the timid, as it was supposed to... |
Washington shrugged off a massive pro-Syria rally in Beirut and instead reiterated its insistence that Damascus end its presence in Lebanon "as quickly as possible." Downplaying the demonstration in Beirut which attracted hundreds of thousands of people, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said: "We welcome peaceful demonstrations by the Lebanese people." He added: "We believe the Lebanese people aspire to live in freedom and aspire to control their own future, and I think you've seen that from recent demonstrations." In a clear message to Damascus, McClellan said: "The Syrian government needs to respond to the aspirations of the Lebanese people and the demands of the international community."
| Bush isn't going to lose sight of the main objective. That's expected... |
Commenting on the demonstration UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said: "It's normal in every society to have differing viewpoints." But he said: "The resolution is quite clear, they must withdraw. That is why I'm sending my envoy to sit with them and discuss the full withdrawal."
| It would have been a surprising statement just a couple months ago, before Kofi came under real pressure with the Oil-for-Food scandal and calls for his resignation. |
France did not react to Nasrallah's speech despite a specific request by the Shiite leader to French President Jaques Chirac to reconsider his position on UN Resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon and respect for its sovereignty.
| That probably came as a surprise to Nasrallah. He probably thought Jacques was in his back pocket. Keep an eye on the Frenchies for the next few days, though, to see which way they jump. If they decide the wind's blowing our way, Lebanon could be a cheap place to flex the Francomuscle. The Lebanese army's negligible and would probably side with them anyway, and the Syrian army's no great shakes. Hezbollah's a terrorist organization, not an army. |
| Yep, the French could collect themselves a squirrel pelt here ... |
Siding with the United States, senior officials from Germany, Israel and the European Union retorted calls for Syria to comply with 1559 After a meeting with Lebanese opposition leader Walid Jumblatt, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said: "We want a Lebanon that has good relations with its neighbors but can decide on its own fate on a democratic basis." German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Chirac issued a joint declaration Monday urging Syria to completely withdraw its forces from Lebanon as soon as possible.
| There's the real surprise. Both Syria and Iran will now attempt to cause the Eurofront to wobble, as is its wont... |
Israel's Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said: ""We believe that the Syrians should implement Resolution 1559 - and the sooner, the better." Meanwhile, EU Deputy Foreign Minister Nicolas Schmit called on the international community to maintain "pressure on all sides with the aim of a complete and immediate implementation of Resolution 1559."
| Ah, yes. That desire to be "even-handed." What were the sides again? Only one has to implement 1559. The other's waiting to see it done. |
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