U.S. Moves from 'Suspicion' to 'Certainty' on Syrian Saboteurs in Lebanon

The United States is certain that Syrian intelligence agents remain in Lebanon and are exerting a destabilizing influence, a senior U.S. state department official said Thursday in London. The official, who asked not to be named, said the United States was extremely concerned about the situation in Lebanon after two political assassinations this month and three since February, when former prime minister Rafik Hariri was killed along with his economic advisor Bassel Fleihan and 20 others, including 6 bodyguards. Syria withdrew the last of its troops in April to end a 29-year presence. But the official said: "There is no question that Syrian military intelligence agents have stayed behind and are asserting a very negative influence." U.S. officials had previously said that they suspected Syrian intelligence agents had remained in Lebanon after the military pull-out. But the official said Thursday "we are now certain of it." He declined to give more specifics. He said no other country had disputed the U.S. contention that Syrian agents were still operating in Lebanon, but the United Nations -- which has sent a verification team to the country -- has left open the question. The official spoke to a small group of reporters after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with her French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy ahead of a meeting in London later in the day of Group of Eight foreign ministers. Both Rice and Douste-Blazy reiterated a call for Syria to respect U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 which France and the United States promoted last year. It called for a full withdrawal of all Syrian forces from Lebanon and an end to foreign interference in the country. Douste-Blazy urged the international community to be firm in dealing with Syria, saying the country had to respect resolution 1559 in full. "Resolution 1559 must be respected and the firmness of the international community must be expressed in the coming days vis-a-vis Syria," he said, following the London meeting with Rice.(AFP)