(Knight Ridder-Kansas City Star) Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson - If Syrian forces leave Lebanon, the Islamic militant group Hizballah is ready to fill the military and political vacuum. Instead of clearing the way for pro-Western democrats, Syria's withdrawal could bring to the fore a virulently anti-Western political force. "The Syrians are trying to leave behind a system they can control. A pillar of that will be Hizballah," said Michael Young, opinion editor of Lebanon's Daily Star. One in eight Lebanese turned out for Hizballah's pro-Syrian rally Tuesday, according to some crowd estimates, seven times as many people as even the biggest of the highly publicized anti-Syrian demonstrations that have captured world attention drew during the past three weeks. Additional Hizballah rallies are planned for Friday in Tripoli and Nabatiya.
2005-03-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive