U.S. Wants Syria to Leave Lebanon 'Now,' not in 2 Years

The United States could not stomach Syria's latest declaration that it would, perhaps, withdraw from Lebanon in 2007, insisting the withdrawal should be carried out "immediately and completely" in compliance with U.N. resolution 1559, An Nahar reported on Tuesday.The Beirut daily's Washington correspondent Hisham Milhem quoted responsible American sources as saying they were not interested in any speculation about a timeframe for Syria's departure from Lebanon.As far as Lebanon is concerned, sources were quoted as saying the Bush administration expects Syria to make deeds that speak out louder than words. "We must see movements on the ground submitting to resolution 1559," one unnamed source was quoted as saying.The sources were also quoted as rejecting Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al Sharaa's linkage of 1559 implementation to a comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict taking place in the Middle East as he implied in an interview with the CNN on Sunday.It was in this interview that Sharaa said the Syrian army would perhaps stay on in Lebanon for two more years.

Source: Naharnet