Upwards of 500,000 people rallied in Beirut today in FAVOR of Syria's presence and calling for the US and France not to interfere in Lebanon.
Seems some foreign interference is more wanted than others.
The organizer of the rally? Hizb'Allah -- the anti-Semitic, Syrian-and-Iran dominated terrorist organization that allegedly had to bus in people from Syria to bolster attendance.
Pres. Bush's reaction? The Lebanese people should decide the future of Lebanon (see title link).
As Michael Young notes here, the rally is more about the speakers than the ralliers, unlike previous Cedarite demonstrations. He also reports that:
There is little doubt that a majority of Lebanese--Christians, Druze, Sunni Muslims (particularly after the assassination of Rafik Hariri), and not a few Shiites (how I recall that the most violent postwar confrontations with Syria occurred between Syrian soldiers and Shiite soccer fans after matches in which Syrian and Lebanese teams competed)--want an end to Syrian domination. Today, the truth is clear: Hezbollah seeks to become the Praetorian Guard of a Syrian-dominated order in Lebanon for after Syrian soldiers withdraw. In that context, the killing of Hariri also becomes clearer: it was preparation for what Damascus understood would be an inevitable Syrian pullout, ensuring that a strong Sunni, with a national project for Lebanon (who could also have threatened the stability of the Alawite regime in Damascus), would be eliminated.
As these folks also note, the Lebanese also understand the irony of a demonstration calling for an end to foreign interference replete with large posters of Boy Assad.
Stay tuned.
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