Syrian Troops Will Redeploy Closer to Border, Leaders Say

The promised redeployment of the estimated 14,000 troops fails to satisfy the demands of the United Nations, the United States and a determined Lebanese opposition, all of whom are calling for a complete withdrawal. The presidents gave no timeline for the full retreat.

After the announcement, Syrian soldiers and military vehicles began to move east toward the Bekaa Valley, according to local news reports. It was the first concrete sign of a pullback in weeks of political turmoil, but it was rebuffed as inadequate by tens of thousands of protesters who filled Lebanon's capital.

"We want the Syrians out. The Bekaa means they stay in Lebanon, which is not enough," said George Aouad, a 23-year-old engineering student in wraparound sunglasses. "They should go to Syria."

With parliamentary elections set for May, Lebanon faces serious hurdles in the next few months. Even if the soldiers leave, Syrian influence permeates virtually every Lebanese institution. It's unclear whether Lebanon will be able to purge itself of Syrian spies, not to mention their Lebanese counterparts, or how it will do so.

Another serious question is the future of Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim political party and militia that is the most potent political force in the country. Followers of the group are expected to pour into the streets today to demonstrate support for Syria and protest what they call "foreign interference" in Lebanese affairs -- the international demands for a Syrian withdrawal and the disarmament of Lebanon's militias.

Hezbollah enjoys broad popular support and has boasted that it can bring half a million people into the streets. The decision to protest is a sign that the party, which has a powerful parliamentary bloc and a network of social and charity organizations, is feeling threatened by calls to lay down its guns.

"Hezbollah tries to tell us they're a resistance group that doesn't interfere, but now it seems they're involving themselves internally. They'll have to pay a price for that," said Gibran Bassil of the Free Patriotic Movement, a largely Christian group that had opposed Lebanon's pro-Syrian government, which collapsed last week. "Hezbollah will be responsible for any destabilization here."