Mideast situation – Bush echoes call for Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon – USDOS press release/Non-UN document (excerpts)

White House Report, March 2: Syria/Lebanon, Iraq

Bush joins Rice, Barnier in calling for Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon

BUSH ECHOES CALLS IN LONDON FOR SYRIA TO LEAVE LEBANON

President Bush welcomed comments by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier in London March 2 calling upon Syria to remove its forces from Lebanon.

Speaking March 2 in Arnold, Maryland, the president said, “both of them stood up and said loud and clear to Syria, you get your troops and your secret services out of Lebanon so that good democracy has a chance to flourish.”

Bush described the current situation as “a profound period of time,” in which “freedom is on the march.”

“The world is speaking with one voice when it comes to making sure that democracy has a chance to flourish in Lebanon and throughout the greater Middle East,” he said.

He said the world becomes more peaceful when democracy takes hold, and told his audience he will continue to work with U.S. friends and allies to advance “universal freedom.”

Later in the day, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Syria’s withdrawal would help ensure that Lebanon’s upcoming parliamentary elections will be free and fair.

“The Lebanese people are standing up in the streets of Lebanon and saying we want to reclaim our sovereignty and independence, free from outside interference. And the first step is for Syria to get out of the country,” McClellan said.

Asked about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s comments that Syria will withdraw within a few months, McClellan said:  “We need to see by their action, not by their words, that they are going to change their behavior and that they're going to withdraw from Lebanon.”

“The Middle East is moving on democratic reforms in many areas, and that is a very positive sign. Syria continues to be out of step with those efforts,” he said.

McClellan also called upon Syria to end its support for terrorism, saying the United States has “firm evidence” that Palestinian Islamic Jihad, based in Damascus, was involved in planning the February 25 terrorist attack in the Israeli city Tel Aviv.

“It is unacceptable that terrorists are allowed to operate out of Syrian territory.  Syria is a country that is very controlled, and the Syrian government needs to act against those terrorists and shut them down or get them out of their country,” he said.

The Bush administration also wants Syria to take action against former Iraqi regime elements operating in Syria who plan attacks against Iraqis, he said.

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