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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (674859)	3/12/2005 12:46:01 AM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Syrian Troop Convoy Withdraws From Lebanon By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS EIRUT, Saturday, March 12 (AP) - A 62-vehicle convoy carrying Syrian troops and equipment withdrawn from northern Lebanon crossed the border early on Saturday in a heavy snow as Syrians at the frontier welcomed the troops home, throwing flowers and chanting, "We love Syria!" But intelligence agents remained in nine offices in northern Lebanon, and the United Nations Middle East envoy said Syria needed to produce a timetable for a full withdrawal from the rest of Lebanon. The civilians gathered under the roof of a Syrian customs checkpoint, seeking shelter from the cold and heavy snow that delayed the crossing for several hours. They waved Syrian flags and blew whistles. Some handed flowers to the soldiers, while others threw rice, rose petals and sweets in a traditional Arab welcome. Some in the crowd sang national songs to the beat of drums. The convoy crossed the border at Jedeidet Yabous, 30 miles from Damascus and 62 miles east of Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Under international pressure, Syria this week began pulling its 14,000 forces back to the eastern Bekaa region. It is to negotiate with the government on their complete withdrawal from Lebanon later. Despite the pullout from the north of Lebanon, nine Syrian intelligence offices remain open there, including in the towns of Tripoli, Akkar, Minye and Amyoun. Plainclothes intelligence agents operate from the guarded offices in apartment buildings and deal directly with Lebanese. The United Nations envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, said Friday the United Nations expected President Bashar al-Assad to produce a timetable for the full withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence officers from Lebanon. Speaking in Amman, where he sought Jordanian support for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 on Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon, Mr. Roed-Larsen said he was optimistic about his meeting with the Syrian president in Damascus on Saturday. "I expect that we will get the commitment and timetables for the full implementation of 1559," he told reporters. Resolution 1559 calls for Syria's pullout and the disarming of the militant Shiite group Hezbollah. Asked whether his statement referred to the complete withdrawal of Syria's troops in Lebanon as well as its intelligence officers, Mr. Roed-Larsen responded, "I said 'full' and 'timetables.' "