Global Policy Forum

UN Uncertain About Agents

By Colum Lynch and Robin Wright

Syria's military forces have been "fully and completely withdrawn" from Lebanon with the exception of a Syrian battalion stationed in disputed territory that borders the two countries, according to a report by a U.N. verification mission. But the U.N. team said it was "unable to conclude with certainty" that all of Syria's intelligence operatives have left the country.

U.N. officials said Syria's military departure was extensive enough to restrict Damascus's ability to dominate Lebanon's politics and intimidate its population, which officials charged Syria has done since it sent troops into Lebanon 29 years ago.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan provided an upbeat account of the team's findings, comparing it to the landmark withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon five years ago. He made no mention of the team's conclusion that it could not document Syria's assertion that it had removed its intelligence apparatus.

"Yes, we have verified all the withdrawals," Annan told reporters after delivering the report to the president of the 15-nation Security Council. "I think the U.N. should be proud about it. . . . And so, in principle, Lebanon should be free of all foreign forces today."

The United States, however, charged Monday that Syria has not fully withdrawn, and called on Damascus to fulfill its promise to do so. "We cannot rest. Syria must also remove its intelligence forces and allow the Lebanese people to be free," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Last September, the U.N. Security Council, led by France and the United States, adopted Resolution 1559, which demanded that all foreign forces, including Syria's, withdraw from Lebanon. It also called for the "disbanding and disarmament" of all local and foreign militias, including the Syrian- and Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The resolution was adopted after Damascus pressed Lebanon's political leaders to amend the constitution to allow President Emile Lahoud, an ally of Syria, to remain in office for an additional three years. International pressure on Syria to withdraw gained momentum after the Feb. 14 assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

The United Nations sent a team of international officers to Damascus and Beirut in April to verify assertions by the Syrian government that it had complied with the demand that it leave Lebanon. "After traveling more than 1,500 kilometers in Lebanon and visiting 133 former Syrian troops and military intelligence positions, the team found no Syrian military forces, assets or intelligence apparatus in Lebanese territory, with the exception of one Syrian battalion deployed near Deir Al Ashayr," the report said.

The U.N. verification team was not able to go to all areas of Lebanon or confirm the full withdrawal of Syrian intelligence, particularly in light of the hundreds of thousands of Syrian workers in Lebanon. "Unless Syria takes out all workers and farmers, you will never be able to say they're all out. So we're unable to certify that intelligence is out. But military bases are vacated," a Western envoy said.

The U.N. team said it was blocked by gunmen on May 4 from entering a Palestinian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border to check reports of the presence of Syrian troops or equipment. The following day, the team encountered a battalion of Syrian troops at the foot of a mountain near Deir Al Ashayr.

Syrian, Lebanese and French colonial maps locate the town on the Lebanese side of the border, which stretches across the top of the mountain. But Syrian officials said that the maps were mistaken, and Lebanese authorities said they would resolve the issue with Damascus.

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