From: bh437292@longs.LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Basil Hamdan)
Subject: Re: Syrian occupation of Lebanon
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 16:30:36 GMT
Reply-To: bh437292@lance.colostate.edu
Organization: Engineering College, Colorado State University

In article <1992Oct15.233616.8059@ee.eng.ohio-state.edu>, rached@blanc.eng.ohio-state.edu (rached) writes:

|> Basil
|> Good for you that you think that your "beleif" is founded on reality.
|> Just some thoughts from the land of wonders.

Sorry, I will not bite.
 
|> Did any Lebaneese government ask the syrians to leave. Now don't give me
|> the speech about the puppet government. Still it is a government and it
|> rules a country. Recently we had elections and many lebaneese voted for
|> their representatives. The Lebaneese government exists and has an army.
|> This to me looks like a sovereign country. Now just because our leaders
|> are influenced by outside forces does not make us under the occupation
|> of those outside forces. 

Why not ?  Our president is a surrogate, our whole government
is a surrogate, our army cannot make any independent decisions,
their army is on the ground.  What more do you need to call an 
occupation for what it is ?

|> Dear Basil,
|> 
|> When a country is occupying another, then it is doing so inspite of the
|> demand of the occupied country. Please furnish a proof as to the request
|> from the Lebaneese government for Syrians to pull out. Or did you buy
|> the rthethoric of the "opposition" that Syrians must go out of Beirut
|> before September ? Why only Beirut ? What if the Syrians pull oput of
|> Beirut but are still in Bekaa, North and Mountains are we then liberated
|> ? it seems that this is the line of thinking of the so called
|> "opposition".

I am not influenced by any propaganda from the "opposition", the Syrians
have been asked to leave, the Lebanese parliament ratified a document
called the Taif agreement which formally asks them to leave.  They
have publically announced they do not wish to do so and are dragging 
their feet.
 
|> So you see Basil, my idea of occupation is the down to earth and yours
|> is based on your personal beleif and not on the facts there.

What facts ?  The fact that the Lebanese president cannot form a 
cabinet, or appoint one minister before it is cleared in Damascus?
Here is the latest AP report:

Subject: LEBANESE PRESIDENT ELIAS HRAWI LEAVES FOR TALKS

BEIRUT (OCT. 14) DPA - Lebanese President Elias Hrawi left Beirut Wednesday for
Damascus to meet with his Syrian counterpart, Hafez Assad, for talks on Lebanese
and regional developments and the Middle East peace talks, the president's
office said. 
   Political sources said the talks would also cover the election of a new house
speaker in Lebanon on October 15. 
   Under the constitution, Prime Minister Rashid Solh's government must resign
to make way for a new cabinet and the new 128-member parliament should convene
on October 15 to elect a new house speaker. 
   Nabih Berri, leader of the Shiite Amal Movement, has announced his candidacy
for the house presidency. Current house speaker Hussein Husseini is also a
candidate. 

 
|> Finally, occupation or not, I beleive that Syrians will pull oyut when
|> the Lebaneese government asks them to. 

It has, they did not.  Facts speak louder than words.

They are only there because we
|> have proved time and time again that when left alone we will return to
|> play with guns. Need I remind you about what happened when the Syrians
|> were out of Beirut with all the militias (whether in West or East
|> Beirut).
|> rached
|> `

Basil