Keesing's World News Archives » Breaking History  »  Middle East and Arab World  »  Mideast: Nancy Pelosi visits Syria (pub. April 12, 2007)

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Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, and Speaker of the US House of Representatives (the lower house of Congress, the US bicameral federal legislature) arrived in Syria on April 3, for a visit that was condemned by President George W. Bush as undermining US foreign policy.  On April 4, Pelosi held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  She insisted that dialogue with Syria was the only way to resolve the factional crisis in Lebanon (one faction supporting the pro-Western Prime Minister, Fuad Siniora, in opposition to the supporters of the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud), as well as to increase stability throughout the Middle East.  Syrian officials had been accused of involvement in the assassination in February 2005 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and although Syria had withdrawn its troops from Lebanon, factional tensions remained high.

Immediate context

The Republican administration of US President Bush severed diplomatic relations with Syria in February 2005 following the assassination of al-Hariri.  Pelosi was the highest ranking US official to visit Syria since 2003.  The EU also severed relations following al-Hariri's assassination, but EU high representative for foreign and security affairs Javier Solana Madariaga re-opened diplomatic channels in a visit to Syria on March 12-15.  

The UN in April 2005 had launched an investigation into the assassination of al-Hariri and had subsequently claimed that Syrian officials had been involved.  On March 27 the UN Security Council granted the Investigating Commission led by Serge Brammertz another year to complete its inquiry into the assassination.  Brammertz was reported on March 21 to have announced that the killing had probably been politically motivated.  Al-Hariri opposed Syrian involvement in Lebanese politics and had been widely expected to win legislative elections in June 2005, although he had not officially declared his candidacy at the time of his death.  The Syrian authorities had repeatedly denied any involvement in the assassination, responding angrily to the UN investigators' preliminary report in October 2005.

Reaction and outlook

Analysts, according to a report by the BBC on April 4, claimed that Nancy Pelosi's visit to Syria indicated that the Democrats did not support the Bush administration's Middle East policies.  However, Pelosi pointed out that Republican representatives Frank Wolf, Joe Pitts and Robert Aderholt had held meetings with President Assad on April 1, which had met with little comment.  US assistant secretary of state for refugee affairs Ellen Sauerbrey had visited Syria on March 12, but the White House insisted that this was to discuss Iraq-related issues only.  The US authorities accused Syria of supporting such groups as Hezbollah, which had been designated as terrorist organisations by the USA in November 2001.  The BBC quoted Syria's deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad as saying that the "wrong policies of the United States" were responsible for the activities of such groups, but adding that "true dialogue is the only way for solving the very grave problems in the region". 

UN investigator Serge Brammertz called for the eventual prosecution of anyone involved in the killing of al-Hariri and The UN Security Council had in March 2006 approved a resolution to form an international tribunal.  However, the tribunal proposal was rejected by Syrian President Assad, who said that he would not allow the extradition of any Syrian suspects, and by Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, making a swift resolution unlikely.  

Historical context

Syria and Lebanon were both part of the Ottoman Empire.  In 1918 Arab troops led by Emir Faysal and backed by UK forces capture Damascus and a Kingdom of Greater Syria (including what would become Lebanon) was declared in 1919.  The short-lived kingdom was divided in 1920 by the San Remo conference, which allocated Syria and Lebanon to France.  France occupied Syria and declared the two countries to be Greater Lebanon in August 1920.  Syrians agitated against French rule, with a limited independence agreement being signed in 1936.  Both Syria and Lebanon were occupied by the Axis Powers after the fall of France to Nazi Germany in 1940.  Lebanon declared independence in 1941 and achieved full independence in 1944, and Syria became independent in 1946. 

In 1975 civil war between Christians, Muslims, and Palestinians broke out in Lebanon and in 1976 Syrian troops entered Lebanon to attempt to restore peace.  Israel invaded southern Lebanon in 1982, forcing the Syrian military to retreat.  Despite a peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel in 1983, Syrian forces remained in Lebanon and were deployed in Beirut in 1987 in a peacekeeping role.  However, opposition to Syria's military presence in Lebanon increased during the 1990s, and in 2001 Syrian troops left Beirut but were deployed elsewhere in the country.

In 2004 the UN called for a complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon.  Following the assassination of al-Hariri in February 2005 Syria faced huge international pressure to withdraw, and, following massive anti-Syrian protests in Lebanon, removed its troops.  Suspicions of Syrian involvement in the killing of al-Hariri persisted and in October 2005 these suspicions were re-iterated by a UN report.  The same month, Syria's interior minister and former head of intelligence in Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, was found dead.  The authorities declared that Kanaan had committed suicide. 

On July 12, 2006, in response to an attack by Hezbollah guerrillas, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon, launching a war that lasted for 34 days.  Israeli troops were withdrawn in October 2006.  Mass anti-government protests were held in Beirut, on Dec. 1, 2006, organised by the country’s two main Shi’ite factions, Hezbollah and Amal, calling for the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.  Hezbollah and Amal (predominantly Shi’ite groups) had withdrawn from the Sunni-led Siniora government in November 2006.  Pro-Siniora demonstrations had been held in November following the assassination on Nov. 21 of the Minister of Industry, Pierre Gemayel.

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Timeline links:

• December 2006.  Mass pro-Syrian protests against the pro-Western government of Fuad Siniora are held in Beirut.
• November 2006.  US President George W. Bush's press secretary, Tony Snow, on Nov. 1 announces that the USA has mounting evidence that Syria, Iran, and the Shi'ite Hezbollah movement are planning to "topple" the government of Fuad Siniora.  Minister of Industry, Pierre Gemayel, a Christian and prominent opponent of Syrian influence in Lebanon, is assassinated on Nov. 21.  Pro-Siniora demonstrations are held. 
• October 2006.  The Israeli army on Oct. 1 withdraws the last of its forces from south Lebanon.
• September 2006.  Israel lifts its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.  
• August 2006.  Israel continues to attack Lebanon, but ceases hostilities on Aug. 14.
• July 2006.  Israel launches a massive offensive against Lebanon following the killing of three Israeli soldiers and the capture of two other by Hezbollah guerrillas.
• June 2006.  The UN International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri, delivers an interim report to the UN Security Council on June 14.  
• May 2006.  The Israeli airforce attacks Palestinian bases deep inside Lebanon on May 28 after cross-border clashes erupt when militants fire rockets into northern Israel.  The UN Security Council on May 17 adopts Resolution 1680 (2006), which urges Syria to establish full diplomatic relations with Lebanon and to "delineate their common border, especially in those areas where the border is uncertain or disputed", noting that such measures would "constitute a significant step towards asserting Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence".  
• April 2006.  UN investigator Serge Brammertz interviews Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  
• March 2006.  The UN Security Council on March 29 approves Resolution 1664 (2006), which calls for the establishment of "a tribunal of international character" to try those found responsible for the assassination of al-Hariri.  
• February 2006.  Shaikh Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of the pro-Syrian Shi'ite Hezbollah movement, and Gen. Michel Aoun, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, on Feb. 6 agree a 10-point "document of joint understanding".  Aoun, a Maronite Christian, had launched an unsuccessful "war of liberation" against Syrian forces in Lebanon in the late 1980s.  Israeli military aircraft and artillery attack Hezbollah targets near the disputed Shabaa farms area along the Lebanese-Israeli border on Feb. 3 in response to rocket attacks by Hezbollah.
• January 2006.  Serge Brammertz is appointed Commissioner of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) into the assassination of al-Hariri.  Saudi Arabia presents Lebanon and Syria with a proposed agreement to defuse tensions, amid rising alarm in Arab states over the swift deterioration in relations between the two countries since al-Hariri's death.  
• December 2005.  On Dec. 12 the latest report of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) into the assassination of al-Hariri is presented to the UN Security Council, including fresh evidence suggesting that high-ranking officials of the Syrian intelligence services, in collaboration with their Lebanese counterparts, were behind the killing.  
• November 2005.  Syrian officials confirm on Nov. 7 that UN investigators had summoned six unnamed government officials for questioning.
• October 2005.  The preliminary UN report on al-Hariri's assassination is released on Oct. 20.  
• September 2005.  UN investigators announce on Sept. 1 that they believed that four high-ranking security officials detained in the capital, Beirut, on Aug. 30 had played a role in planning the assassination of al-Hariri.  
• August 2005.  Three former security officials with close ties to Syria are detained on Aug. 30 for questioning by the UN commission investigating the assassination of al-Hariri.  A fourth official turns himself over to the UN commission after being summoned by the police.
• June 2005.  Legislative elections take place amid growing support for the "anti-Syrian opposition" coalition.
• April 2005.  Syrian troops and intelligence officials complete their withdrawal from Lebanon on April 26.  On April 7 the UN Security Council decides to establish an international independent investigation commission based in Lebanon to assist the Lebanese authorities in their investigation of all aspects of the assassination of al-Hariri.  
• March 2005.  The Lebanese opposition on March 14 by organises a massive rally in central Beirut to mark one month since al-Hariri's assassination.  Some reports say that the size of the protest seems to exceed the pro-Syrian Hezbollah demonstration held on March 8.  A UN report published on March 24 claims that the Syrian government bore "primary responsibility" for the political tension that preceded the assassination.  
• March 2005.  Tens of thousands of Syrians march the streets of Damascus on March 9 in support of President Bashar al-Assad.  
• February 2005.  Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, is killed on Feb. 14 in a massive car bomb explosion.  As many as 16 others are killed in the blast, including a number of al-Hariri's bodyguards, and a further 135 people are injured.  Al-Hariri is reported to have become increasingly critical of the Syrian military presence in Lebanon.  President Bashar al-Assad of Syria calls the killing "a horrendous criminal act" and urges the Lebanese to "reject those seeking discord".  On Feb. 15 the USA withdraws its ambassador to Syria.  US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher announces that the withdrawal reflects the government's "profound outrage" over Lahoud's pro-Syrian regime, calling on it to step down so that a new government could be formed to oversee a Syrian military withdrawal from Lebanon.  
• October 2004.  The UN Security Council on Oct. 19 urges Syria to withdraw its remaining troops from neighbouring Lebanon.  Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri on Oct. 20 dissolves his Cabinet and announces that he will not try to form the next government.  Al-Hariri's resignation follows weeks of speculation about the fate of his government, amid a political crisis triggered by intense international pressure on Syria over its influence on Lebanon's political affairs.  
• September 2004.  The USA and France on Sept. 2 win approval for UN Security Council Resolution 1559 (2004), intended to derail Syrian plans to extend the mandate of the staunchly pro-Syrian Lahoud.  The Resolution also calls upon "all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon".  
• August 2004.  The Lebanese cabinet on Aug. 28 approves a controversial constitutional amendment which provides for a three-year extension to the mandate of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud.  
• August 2003.  Hezbollah fighters on Aug. 8 attack Israeli military positions around the disputed Shabaa farms area, on the slopes of Mt Hermon, ending a year of relative peace.  
• September 2002.  A dispute between Lebanon and Israel over access to fresh water supplies in the former Israeli occupation zone of south Lebanon heightens tensions between the two countries.  
• January 2002.  Elie Hobeika, aged 45, one of Lebanon's most notorious militia commanders from the civil war of 1975-90, is killed by a car bomb in Beirut on Jan. 24.  Israeli officials on Jan. 24 dismiss claims that Israel had assassinated Hobeika as "rubbish" and "a complete lie".  
• June 2001.  Syria pulls a number of troops out of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in mid-June, but Syrian troops remain stationed elsewhere in the country.  
• April 2001.  Israel on April 15 carries out an air attack on a Syrian radar station in Lebanon in the first Israeli attack on a Syrian target since April 1996.  Israel announces that it launched the raid in response to an April 14 attack by guerrillas from the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah.  
• March 2001.  In mid-March a dispute between Lebanon and Israel over access to fresh water supplies in the former Israeli occupation zone of south Lebanon heightens tensions between the two countries.  On March 14 the Liberal National Student Grouping holds a series of anti-Syrian demonstrations in educational establishments in the capital, Beirut.  
• December 2000.  On Dec. 11 Syria releases 48 Lebanese political prisoners, the majority of them Christians who had been imprisoned toward the end of the 1975-90 Lebanese civil war.  
• October 2000.  On Oct. 23 President Gen. Emile Lahoud appoints Rafiq al-Hariri as Prime Minister designate.  
• September 2000.  Rafik al-Hariri emerges as the front runner for the position of Prime Minister following the second round of legislative elections.  
• August 2000.  The first round of voting in legislative elections takes place on Aug. 27.  On Aug. 9 a combined Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces (ISF) unit of 1,000 troops is deployed in the area of South Lebanon vacated by Israeli occupation forces in May.  
• May 2000.  Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon ends on May 24 when the last of its troops depart its self-declared "security zone" in southern Lebanon.  At least 900 Israelis had died in south Lebanon since Israel had first invaded the country in 1978.  The Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah had lost 1,276 fighters since it had started its resistance activities in 1982.  Large numbers of Lebanese civilians, Palestinians and others had also died in southern Lebanon.  
• June 1999.  Israel carries out a series of air-strikes against infrastructure targets in central and southern Lebanon on June 24.  Israel states that it carried out the air-strikes in revenge for recent attacks by Hezbollah fighters on northern Israel.  
• November 1998.  Gen. Emile Lahoud is sworn in as Lebanon's new President on Nov. 24.  
• April 1998.  On April 1 the Israeli security Cabinet votes unanimously to accept UN Security Council resolution 425 (of 1978) calling for an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon.  However, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insists that a withdrawal is conditional upon adequate guarantees that Lebanon would deploy its army southwards to prevent cross-border attacks into Israel by Hezbollah and other militia groups.  The Lebanese and Syrian governments swiftly dismiss the Israeli declaration.  
• April 1996.  Israel undertakes its most extensive military action in Lebanon since 1993.  
• July 1993.  Israel responds to the killing of a number of its troops by Hezbollah and Palestinian fighters in southern Lebanon in early July by launching a week-long bombing campaign against guerrilla and civilian targets, the largest Israeli action in Lebanon since its 1982 invasion.  
• October 1992.  On Oct. 22 President Elias Hrawi appoints Rafiq al-Hariri Prime Minister, inviting him to form a new government.
• May 1991.  President Elias Hrawi of Lebanon and President Hafez al-Assad of Syria sign a historic "treaty of brotherhood, co-operation and co-ordination" in Damascus on May 22.  
• April 1991.  The Lebanese Cabinet sets an April 30 deadline for the disarming of the country's militias.  However, Hezbollah, claiming it is not a militia but a legitimate army at war with Israel, and the South Lebanon Army (SLA) do not disband.  
• July 1991.  In July the Lebanese government continues with its Syrian-sponsored plan to extend its authority throughout the whole of Lebanon, deploying its army in force in the Palestinian-controlled areas of the south despite having failed to reach an agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).  
• October 1990.  Syrian and Lebanese troops finally succeed in expelling Gen. Michel Aoun, the self-declared interim Premier of Lebanon, from his East Beirut stronghold in mid-October.  
• December 1988.  The failure to elect a successor to President Gemayel leads to the establishment of rival Muslim and Christian regimes, leading to further civil conflict.  
• February 1987.  Following factional fighting, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad sends troops into Beirut in an attempt to maintain a ceasefire.  
• June 1985.  Amidst continued factional fighting, Israel withdraws most of its troops from Lebanon. 241 U.S. Marines and 60 French soldiers are killed when a truck filled with military explosives is driven into their compound.
• May 1983.  Lebanon and Israel agree to end conflict, but Syrian troops remain in Lebanon.
• June 1982.  Israeli forces invade Lebanon, forcing the Syrian army to withdraw from several areas.  
• June 1978.  Israeli troops invade Lebanon.  
• October 1976.  Syrian troops invade Lebanon, which is in the grip of civil war.  
• April 1975.  Serious fighting in Beirut erupts between Phalangists and Palestinians.  The clashes are widely seen as the beginning of the civil war.  
• December 1969.  Conflict between government forces and Palestinian guerrillas, which had persisted throughout the 1960s, continues.  
• July 1958.  US marines are sent to Lebanon in response to an urgent appeal from President Chamoun for help in ending civil conflict.  
• May 1948.  The state of Israel is declared on May 14.  Palestinian refugees flee to Lebanon.  
• April 1946.  The last French and UK troops leave Syria.  
• January 1944.  Lebanon gains full independence on Jan. 1.  
• March 1943.  Autonomous governments are established in Lebanon and Syria.  
• November 1941.  Lebanon proclaims its independence from France on Nov. 26.  
• September 1941.  Syria declares independence.  
• July 1940.  Lebanon and Syria come under the control of the Vichy government of Nazi-occupied France.  
• September 1936.  Syria declares independence and is granted limited autonomy by France.