Imagine losing out on a promotion because you attended a Presbyterian church, or not being able to find a job because your name marked you as a follower of Martin Luther. Imagine that thousands of America’s Protestant clergy had been exiled, killed, or placed under house arrest for nearly thirty years. Imagine that army tanks rolled through Nashville with signs saying, “No Protestants after today!” en route to slaughtering hundreds of them cowering in their churches. Would you be able to patiently sit and wait for a better day? That was life for Shiites under Saddam and his client Sunni community.

Or a post from Syria News Wire about determining who the Shebaa Farms belong to: Syria or Lebanon. It’s important because Israel is currently occupying that bit of real estate. If it’s Lebanese then Israel must withdraw as required by the U.N. If it’s Syrian they can stay.

Technorati Tags: Syria.

He detailed the transfers in an interview yesterday with The New York Sun.

“There are weapons of mass destruction gone out from Iraq to Syria, and they must be found and returned to safe hands,” Mr. Sada said. “I am confident they were taken over.”

Mr. Sada’s comments come just more than a month after Israel’s top general during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Moshe Yaalon, told the Sun that Saddam “transferred the chemical agents from Iraq to Syria.”

Of course, it is a Democrat lie that the war of liberation was really all about WMD and “immanent threat”, but it is a lie that has been repeated long enough and loud enough that it has entered the American consciousness and is accepted as truth. I’ve never really minded this because have always been and remain confident that Saddam had an active WMD program and that they will eventually be found. See these posts:

• In June 2003 U.N. weapons inspectors reported that materials that could be used for making WMD had been removed from 109 sites in Iraq.
• In June 2004 I made an extensive post detailing the many sources (including our CIA) that said Saddam’s WMD were in Syria. I even posted a link to the map of their location.
• In July 2004 the U.N. stated that Saddam had WMC.
• In April 2005 the CIA once again talked about the Syria move.

Technorati Tags: War on Islamofacism,
War on Terror,
Saddam’s WMD,
Iraq WMD,
Syria,
Iraq,
Homeland Security.

Beset by U.S. attempts to isolate his country and facing popular expectations of change, Syrian President Bashar Assad will move to begin legalizing political parties, purge the ruling Baath Party, sponsor free municipal elections in 2007 and formally endorse a market economy, according to officials, diplomats and analysts. …

Emboldened opposition leaders, many of whom openly support pressure by the United States even if they mistrust its intentions, said the measures were the last gasp of a government staggering after its hasty and embarrassing troop withdrawal last month from neighboring Lebanon.

Michael J. Totten thinks a Ceder Revolution may take place in Syria.

Roger L. Simon has an interesting take:

I don’t think too many people are really ready to believe it yet, but the fact that it is even in the air you would think would be sensational news, but as Jonah Goldberg points out, it only made page 10 of the Washington Post today. Is this because we have become so blasé about the spread of the democracy or because the WaPo is loathe to give more credit to the Bush Administration? If it’s the latter – and I don’t know that it is – I’m beginning to find some of my old allies pathetic.

And yet it is from the blogosphere that we hear about a pro-democracy protest in “Syria” earlier this week (HT Instapundit). Only Aljazeera and the Jordan Times (HT Terrorism Unveiled) seems to have mentioned it.

But Syria’s decision to re-establish ties after 23 years of severance could be key to easing the insurgency in Iraq and boosting regional security, given Syria’s 310-mile (499-kilometer) shared border with Iraq and its strong ties with Iraq’s Sunni tribes, analysts said.

In related news, Iraq expects foreign troops to start pulling out mid-2006.

On Syria, the report said that “no information gleaned from questioning Iraqis supported the possibility” that weapons were moved out of the country before the invasion, which was one theory about why no unconventional weapons were found.

Mr. Duelfer reported that his group, the Iraq Survey Group, believed “it was unlikely that an official transfer of W.M.D. material from Iraq to Syria took place. However, I.S.G. was unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited W.M.D.-related materials.”

Seems pretty clear that Saddam didn’t have any and certainly didn’t hide any in Syria, or anywhere else.

That was yesterday. Today the Washington Times has a completely different version: CIA can’t rule out WMD move to Syria:

[Duelfer] cited some evidence of a transfer. “Whether Syria received military items from Iraq for safekeeping or other reasons has yet to be determined,” he said. “There was evidence of a discussion of possible WMD collaboration initiated by a Syrian security officer, and ISG received information about movement of material out of Iraq, including the possibility that WMD was involved. In the judgment of the working group, these reports were sufficiently credible to merit further investigation.”

The article cites several sources that indicate that WMD was moved pre-liberation:

Speculation on WMDs in Syria was fueled by the fact that satellite images picked up long lines of trucks waiting to cross the border into Syria before the coalition launched the invasion. …

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong, the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command during the war, said in his book, “Inside CentCom,” that intelligence reports pointed to WMD movement into Syria.

In October, John A. Shaw, then the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, told The Times that Russian special forces and intelligence troops worked with Saddam’s intelligence service to move weapons and material to Syria, Lebanon and possibly Iran.

I have more sources documented in an extensive post I did last in June 2004.

In that post I also predicted that although Syria was at the heart of the terrorist attacks on our forces in Iraq, we would not need to attack Syria because of the president’s masterful foreign policy — particularly in regard to applying the measures outlined in the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act.

Almost a year later and Syria is being held accountable and the Lebanese are soveriegn. It feels good to be an American again.

The held their candles to form the word “Truth”, signifying their demand that the truth behind the brutal assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri be investigated and reported.

On Monday the protest grew:

Organizers and local police estimate that over a million people already pack the square. Most press reports cite “over 800,000″. (Go to Beirut & Lebanon in a Nutshell for a fantastic panoramic photo and a series of 30-second videos taken throughout the day. Hat tip to American Digest.)

Whatever the true number, it is undeniable that there is a sea of people demanding the truth and the right of self-determination:

The turnout was broader than earlier opposition protests, with more Sunni Muslims in particular joining the Christians and Druse who have formed the bulk of past anti-Syrian rallies. Even some Shiites joined in.

“We came to liberate our country. We are coming to demand the truth,” said Fatma Trad, 40, a Sunni woman wearing a headscarf. “I’ve been watching it all on television for the past month. Today, I wanted to be a part of it.” …

Cars and buses carrying protesters jammed the main roads into Beirut, forcing some people to leave their vehicles and walk. Druse descended from the Chouf and Aley mountains east and southeast of the capital, Christians came from the heartland in the northeast and many Sunni Muslims came from Tripoli, Dinniyeh and Akkar. Others traveled to Beirut from Hariri’s southern hometown, Sidon.

Unlike the pro-Syrian demonstration orchestrated by Hezbollah, this is far from a male-dominated movement:

Indeed, the mix of demonstrators was readily apparent in the mix of dress codes, from veiled women to horsemen in traditional Arab headscarves to women with bare midriffs and pierced belly buttons. A few of the banners cemented the theme of unity by displaying both a cross and a crescent.

One can’t avoid noticing the diversity of the protestors (I fully expect to see a “Babes of Protests” blog soon):

[Update: Sure enought, there is a new blog called Lebanese Chicks For Freedom. HT to Say Uncle.]

Some of the messages are amusing:

But there is nothing ambiguous about their demands:

More people live in Baghdad than in all of Lebanon. In all the months of insurgency, the terrorists were never able to put together a demonstration of any significant numbers. Instead, Iraqi citizens across the troubled country turned out in astonishing numbers to vote for freedom.

Today it is the citizens of Lebanon are turning out in astonishing numbers for freedom: nearly a million people in a country with a population of less than 4 million. One in four is packed into one place, speaking with one voice.

The vaunted Arab street is speaking loud and clear. And it cries for one thing:

Roundup Update:

Publius Pundit has an extensive post that covers the run-up to today as well as the “human tsunami” in Beirut with lots of links.

Wizbang fears civil war but later features the protest babe in red pictured above.

Little Green Footballs features the same girl.

Say Anything uses his uncanny female targeting system to locate this photo from the protest.

Terrorism Unveiled compares the protest to the Boston Tea Party and quotes Condi.

Roger L. Simon finds that Turkey’s Zamon Online estimates the number of demonstrators to be “nearly two million” and the Lebanon Daily Star is reporting some violence (amazingly low, given the number of people packed into Beirut and the contentious topic of the day).

From Captain’s Quarters:

Now, however, it looks like the democrats have more strength than ever, so much so that the Lebanese collaborationists have asked both sides to stop holding street demonstrations and use Parliament to make their demands known. They may have miscalculated by putting Karami back in charge. It tipped their hand, showing their loyalty to Damascus over Beirut, and the protestors in the streets tell them that without Damascus, their days in power are numbered.

From BuzzMachine:

The scene in Lebanon today is miraculous. I’m watching it on Alhurra right now. I don’t understand the words. Don’t have to. The camera is filled with Lebanese celebrating a free future.

Lebanese Bloggers shouts (hat tip to BuzzMachine):

OH MY GOD!!!

I AM IN DISBELIEF!

THE ENTIRE LEBANESE POPULATION IS IN BEIRUT!!!!

ROADS INTO THE CITY ARE STILL CLOGED WITH TRAFFIC…

SOME HAVE DECIDED TO USE BOATS INSTEAD OF THEIR CARS…

I HEARD THAT THERE IS A CONVOY OF 70 BOATS THAT LAUNCHED FROM BYBLOS…

THE MEDITERANEAN IS MIRRORED BY A SEA OF RED WHITE AND GREEN!!!

I AM SO PROUD!!!

HEY… PLANET EARTH: DO YOU SEE???? DO YOU SEE???

Update 2: Concerning the civil war comment previously posted by Wizbang, Lebanese Blogger posts this comment:

However, your fear of a civil war is not founded. The reason is that the dividing lines are not purely sectarian in nature. Hizballah is the only major political party that is standing against the entire Lebanese community – which includes both Christians and Muslims.

I forsee Hizballah caving to the overwhelming pressure. It cannot but do so. Furthermore, there is broad agreement among all political players that war is simply not an option. You might have a few scattered incidents here and there, but full-scale war is simply not going to happen.

Power Line says that today’s demonstration is important:

Does it matter? Sure. The Syria-Hizbollah-terrorist alliance got a major shot in the arm from Hizbollah’s demonstrations. A bloodless revolution is possible, but only if it’s supported by a clear majority of the populace, who are willing to show that they are no longer afraid to say what they think for fear of being shot. That’s the practical definition, I think, of the proverbial “tipping point.” Today’s show of strength went a long way, I hope, toward showing the Syrians and their Lebanese allies that the tide of history is moving inexorably against them.

Update 3: Ace of Spades posts the protest babe in red and says:

I’ve got to say I’m finally becoming more comfortable with having given women the vote.

Unsurprisingly, Protein Wisdom finds some humor in the situation.

Finally, Chrenkoff has his usual must-read, insightful post.

Finally (and I really do plan on stopping now), Right Wing Nut House provides links (including all those I put in this “Update 3″ post) and notes:

Far from being intimidated by the massive outpouring that Baby Assad and his Hizballah toadies managed to force into into the streets a few days ago (reports say that perhaps as many as half of the 500,000 demonstrators were actually bussed in from the Syrian border) the pro-democracy demonstrators seem to have been energized by it.

Update 4: It seems the ‘sphere is paying more attention to the protest babes than I thought.

Wizbang actually digs up a “babe theory” of political movements. Impressive. [Hat tip to Say Uncle.]

Speaking of Say Uncle, read this rather humorous post.

Best Roundup Award goes to Terrorism Unveiled for quoting 19 Lebanese bloggers.

The police and army were powerless as the protest swelled to 25,000 people. Powerless, that is, except for those that greeted the protestors with smiles and helped remove barbed wire and road obstacles, allowing the protestors to join the demonstration. Protestors reciprocated by giving the soldiers red and white roses.

Meanwhile, in the halls of the Lebanese Parliament a debate was taking place about a no-confidence vote for the PM. It was expected that the pro-Syrian government would survive the vote as pro-Syrian members control about two-thirds of the 128 seats, but Prime Minister Omar Karami stunned the world by announcing:

”Out of concern that the government does not become an obstacle to the good of the country, I announce the resignation of the government I had the honor to lead,” Karami told lawmakers.

A visibly rattled parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told Karami: ”I think I deserved to have been told beforehand.”

That leaves pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud the arduous task of pulling together a government that is due to be reelected in May, a process that could take days or weeks depending on the amount of debate. Lahoud has given MPs 48 hours to propose a candidate for prime minister.

“We are seeking a prime minister who will be neutral and not from any of the two camps which is complicated in Lebanon, especially that he will have to carry a heavy political and economic weight,” opposition MP Ghassan Mukheiber told AFP.

“We want an interim cabinet to uncover the truth about Hariri’s assassination, draft a law and oversee elections this spring and reach an agreement for a Syrian pullout which should be achieved before the elections are held,” he said.

Syria’s public reaction has been subdued, to say the least, saying only that the changes in Lebanon are “an internal affair”. But there is a flurry of activity taking place behind the scenes as Syria attempts to garner support from its Arab allies:

Syria also appears to be offering some tokens of good will, the analysts said.

It has given some of its strongest verbal support to Palestinian peace efforts with Israel and last week said it wanted to cooperate with the United Nations to find a way to implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1559 calling for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon.

It also agreed on Monday to hand back to Jordan a huge tract of land along their border, heralding a new era of ties with Amman after decades of Syrian incursions on its land.

And it might also be helping Washington on the Iraq front to placate it over Lebanon, analysts and diplomats said.

“It seems Syria wants an easier way out … a compromise of some sort under an Arab umbrella,” a diplomat said. “They appear more convinced that they should comply with resolution 1559 but maybe they want to dress it with an Arab cover.”

That cover, an Arab diplomat said, could be in the guise of the Taif Accord that ended Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war, under which Syrian troops, which poured into Lebanon during the war, were to redeploy to the eastern Bekaa valley.

Why the Bekaa Valley? Because that’s where some of Saddam’s WMD are buried and they don’t want us to find them, of course.

Meanwhile, how is the most powerful black woman in the world doing in “mending fences” with old Europe?

At a press conference in London, Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, and Michel Barnier, French foreign minister, issued a joint statement calling for a Lebanon “free of outside interference and intimidation” following the collapse on Monday of the Syrian-backed government in Beirut.

The winds of change are sweeping through the region, aided by international pressure. But the most important factor is the people themselves: they have hope where before there was none:

”We didn’t have a chance to speak before,” said mart boa rad, a 70-year-old mother of five who joined the protest. ”We were afraid that we would be hurt or arrested, but we’re not afraid anymore.”

As The Age observed:

When Prime Minister owner karma announced the resignation of his Government on Monday, the Lebanese became the first Arabic-speaking people to bring down their government by mass protest in recent times. Other unhappy Arabs will be watching with interest.

There are, of course, those in the press that are casting the most critical light possible on these events (e.g., LA Times and WaPo). And it is true that at best we should be cautiously optomistic (as is the NY Times in an unsigned editorial) — democracy does not come easily to a culture mired in tyranny, despotism, nepotism and corruption. But consider this:

• Afghanistan: Free and open elections in Afghanistan, followed by the most peaceful period in decades and the Taliban slowly coming to the realization that they have no hope of destabilizing the government.

• Iraq: Free and open elections in the Purple Revolution of Iraq.
• Saudi Arabia: The first municipal elections in Saudi Arabia and an announcement by the Saudi foreign minister last Sunday that women may be allowed to vote in future elections a promise that women will take part in government, including positions within the foreign ministry this year.
• Palestine: Elections in Palestine, followed by the arrest of Palestinian terrorists by Palestinian security forces. More importantly, the democratically-elected parliament twice rejected Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia’s cabinet nominees for being political cronies rather than qualified candidates, forcing Qureia to fill his cabinet with technocrats — experts in their field, including 10 with doctorates, a medical doctor, a lawyer, several engineers and several with master’s degrees.
• Egypt: Egyptian President Mubarak asked Egypt’s parliament to amend the constitution to allow for multiparty elections later this year, the first in the history of the country. And even though most feel this initial election will be little more than a sham, it will serve as the “nose of the camel”; a practice run for real, democratic elections that will have to come in the near future.
• Syria: No doubt feeling the international pressure, Syria aided in arresting Saddam’s half brother.
• Arab League: Representatives from 18 of the 22 members of the Arab League met with representatives from the OECD to initiate a “multi-sectoral Arab public sector reform initiative” designed to “achieve administrative, financial, and judicial reforms.”

These are not just hopeful signs pointing to possible change. These are widespread epochal events that are the manifestation of a deep and meaningful metamorphosis in the Middle East.

No, this will not result in the establishment of Western-style democracy. It is not the beginnings of the creation of a Euro-style confederation of free states. What results may be something altogether new, perhaps even an unprecedented fusion of Islam and democracy.

But what is certain is that hope has been granted to millions and that change is coming. And no matter what the final result, it will end the rule of tyrants and give voice to the people, equality to women and prosperity to those who only knew borderline poverty.

What the president has started is working. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.

Update: Syria promises to withdraw its troops from Lebanon “soon”, avoiding setting a timetable for logistical (rather than political) reasons.:

“It (withdrawal) should be very soon and maybe in the next few months. Not after that. I can’t give you a technical answer. The point is the next few months,” he told Time magazine.

UNTIL a week ago, the courtyard of the Muhammad Ali-Amin Mosque in central Beirut was a quiet place where elderly citizens took time off to feed the pigeons. Yesterday, however, it held the largest gathering Lebanon has ever seen.

This was the culmination of a week in which an endless flow of people from all walks of life and different faiths had continued in and out of the mosque united by a single purpose: to call for a restoration of Lebanon’s freedom and independence as a nation. …

The genie of people power has come out of the bottle and no amount of political chicanery will send it back in. Nor can Syria dispatch its tanks to crush the demonstrators on the streets of Beirut as the Soviet Union did in Prague in 1968.

“This is the start of Lebanon’s second war of independence,” says parliamentarian Marwan Hamade. “We are determined that Hariri’s tragic death be transformed into the rebirth of our nation.” …

Free elections in Lebanon, after free elections in the Palestinian Authority and Iraq, will speed up the dismantling of other despotic regimes in the Middle East, thus bringing this vital region into the mainstream of post-Cold War global politics. Whether anyone likes it or not, regime-change must remain the name of the game in the region until people-based governments are established wherever this is not already the case.

If Lebanon is able to cast off the Syrian shackles, will they let us dig up Saddam’s WMD buried in Bekka Valley?