End of an era

Despite the attempts by Damascus and its allies to call Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon honorable, the humiliation of being expelled, by a Lebanese and international consensus, could not go unnoticed during its official parting ceremonies. Syria’s pullout from Lebanon is without a doubt the end of an era. True, Damascus is still having trouble letting go of its long-time reign of Lebanon and the political, military and economic profits it had acquired from its occupation. The Syrians aim to continue reaping such benefits by using the cards they still possess in their hands. After all, Beirut is still an hour away from Damascus, and the Syrians have quite a few allies in Lebanon, the primary one being, of course, Hizbullah. This group will, as it seems, be the next target of a Lebanese revolution, and Hassan Nasrallah is likely to feel the noose tightening around his neck. In any case, Syria is on the defense nowadays and has long lost its ability to take any political or military moves in Lebanon and the entire Middle East. The Syrian leadership is weaker than ever today, isolated from the local and international arena and, is proverbially struggling for its life. Statues smashed, posters vandalized George W. Bush, who expelled the Syrians from Lebanon, already marked the next target when he said last week that Syrian President Bashir al-Assad had, in his eyes, turned into late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and that he doesn’t intend to negotiate with him on any matter. Even if Assad doesn’t come to his senses, Syria’s pullout from Lebanon could not only mean the end of the Syrian regime in Lebanon but also the end of the Assad dynasty in Damascus. Meanwhile, Lebanese security forces are coordinating with Syrian forces the dismantling and removal of statues, structures, memorial signs, posts of Assad and his later father, Hafez Assad, from all of Lebanon. Masses of Lebanese youngsters have smashes statues, vandalized signs and ripped the posters of those who were the “masters” of Lebanon for the past 30 years. Indeed, the end of an era.

End of an era

Syrian pullout could signal end of Assad regime, Eyal Zisser writes