And that's just the economy. Lebanon's armed forces have been turned into a wholly owned subsidiary of the Syrian military as genuine Lebanese patriots have been purged from the ranks. Not surprisingly, human rights are violated wantonly. Foes of the Syrian occupation have been imprisoned and tortured - or have disappeared altogether. Especially heartbreaking for those who remember how robust Lebanon's media used to be is the suppression of the press.
Censorship is now routine.
Newspapers have been closed and editors imprisoned for criticizing the government. But the cruelest blow of all has come not from Damascus but from Washington. In the vain hope of inducing Syria to make peace with Israel, the United States has turned a blind eye to the Syrian occupation. When Assad's troops demolished Beirut's last defenders in 1990, they did so with the acquiescence of President Bush, who was willing to pay any price for Syria's support of Desert Storm. That is, to reverse Saddam's conquest of Kuwait, the White House accepted Assad's conquest of Lebanon.