Deep Roots Hold Syrian Influence in Lebanon

These days, Syrian influence has quietly permeated the parliament, the president's office, the financial sector and virtually every other institution. Syrian soldiers were meant to keep the peace after Lebanon's civil war. Instead, Syria has taken over.

"It's a creeping annexation," said former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel. "Syria considers its presence here not as something temporary, not as a foreign occupation, but as something natural. They think that Lebanon is a part of Syria."

Pressure to withdraw Syrian soldiers, whose ranks in Lebanon are estimated to number about 16,000, has swelled since former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated last week in Beirut. Damascus, the Syrian capital, has responded to the calls with defiance.

To Syria, Lebanon is a freewheeling market, a place to earn and keep money. It's also a crucial bargaining chip in case of negotiations with Israel. Moreover, many Syrians view this graceful, sun-washed Mediterranean country as a fundamental part of the historic Syrian nation.

Even if the soldiers left, Syrian influence would linger in the form of intelligence agents and Lebanese who make a living on the Syrian payroll. For more than a decade, the Syrian regime has bullied and co-opted politicians and business figures, made kings and outcasts with its decrees and mixed favors and threats to keep a grip on power.

After a long, bloody civil war that wound down 15 years ago, Lebanon remains a turbulent and strategically crucial piece of the Middle East. Hezbollah guerrillas use southern Lebanon as a staging ground to attack Israel, and could escalate their assaults to disturb Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Palestinian militants maintain offices in refugee camps in Lebanon.

Beirut invited Syrian soldiers into the country in the 1970s in an effort to keep the peace; the troops won international approval for their presence with the Taif Accord of 1989. The civil war ended a year later, but Syrian troops stayed.

Lebanese sources and Western diplomats say Syria has penetrated the Lebanese army and intelligence services. From the president of the country to university deans, leaders are handpicked by the Syrian regime. Syria has dumped billions of dollars into Lebanese banks and erected monuments and statues to Syria's ruling Assad family.