Date published: 2005/03/04
The BBC says:
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has warned Syria it risks being "treated as a pariah" if it fails to withdraw its forces from Lebanon.
In a BBC interview, Mr Straw said more UN peacekeepers could be deployed in Lebanon to replace Syrian troops.
His comments come a day after Russia and Saudi Arabia joined growing calls for Syria to withdraw its forces.
Syria has come under intense pressure to pull out of Lebanon since a massive car bomb blast there on 14 February.
Lebanese opposition groups have blamed Syria for the attack, which killed popular former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri - a charge Syria has strongly denied.
Mr Straw said Syria had no choice but to leave Lebanon, where there are about 15,000 Syrian troops and thousands of Syrian intelligence personnel.
"It has got to, it is very clear," he said, noting "every one of its neighbours is saying you have got to leave".
Pot, kettle, black. Perhaps the UK and USA should leave Iraq. Perhaps the UK should leave Gibraltar since "every one of its neighbours is saying you have got to leave" (in this case, the one neighbour Spain). Perhaps Israel should leave the Middle East. And it is interesting that Straw does not call Israel a "pariah" state although Israel has occupied the West Bank longer than Syria has occupied Lebanon. And we don't know who killed Hariri, it could easily have been the CIA or one of its sister organisations.
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