For example, the Bush administration has accused Syria of being in violation of the UN Resolutions and, therefore, liable for international sanctions, while completely ignoring Israel's disregard of several UN resolutions that called for its withdrawal from Gaza and the West Bank. (Zunes) While calling for immediate withdrawal of occupation forces from Lebanon, it conveniently forgets the fact that Syria has only 14,000 troops in Lebanon while the U.S. has a 150,000 strong occupation force in Iraq. Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and its occupation of Southern Lebanon until 2000 with U.S.'s tacit approval are not even mentioned in passing. Moreover, the U.S. democratization rhetoric vis a vis its policy in Lebanon and Syria does not carry much credibility as a number of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East continue to be supported even now as long as the regimes are pro-United States and/or pro-Israel. During the Cold War, the justification for such support was the over-riding importance of containing Communism; now the 'fight against terrorism' has become a ready excuse. The U.S. role in the current Lebanese crisis is thus plagued by striking double standards

Conclusion

After years of uneasy peace, Lebanon is once again plagued by a political crisis that may escalate into chaos and violence between warring factions reminiscent of the civil war that erupted in the mid-seventies. The U.S. role in the crisis is based on opportunism, and as we saw in the essay, largely based on the neo-con agenda of increasing U.S. influence in the Middle East and a lop-sided pro-Israel world view. Its policy also smacks of double-standards that are hard to justify and detracts from its purported role as a supporter of justice, democracy and fair-play.

Works Cited

Auken, Bill Van. "The assassination of Rafiq Hariri: who benefited?" World Socialist Web Site. 17 February 2005. March 13, 2005. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/feb2005/hari-f17.shtml

Cole, Juan. "Lebanon Realignment and Syria." Informed Comment

March 13, 2005
http://www.juancole.com/2005/03/lebanon-realignment-and-syria-it-is.html / 'Lebanese Civil War." From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2005. March 13, 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_Civil_War

Kay, Joseph. "Us Engineers Provocation Following Assassination in Lebanon."

16 February 2005. March 13, 2005

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/feb2005/syri-f16.shtml

Zunes, Stephen. "The Dangerous Implications of the Hariri Assassination and the U.S. Response." February 19, 2005. March 13, 2005

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0219-23.htm

In a bomb blast that killed Hariri, his bodyguards, and several bystanders

Similar to the 15-year-old Lebanese civil war that devastated the country during 1975-90

Along with Greek Orthodox and other Christians, the total Christian population in Lebanon was about 51% at the time. The Shi'ites were the smallest group -- about 18%, the rest being Sunnis. (Cole)

The dominant position of the Maronite Christians was guaranteed by the country's constitution.

By this time, the Palestinian population in Lebanon had risen to 300,000

Druze are a fringe Ismaili Muslim group

241 U.S. And 48 French soldiers were killed in the Beirut barracks bombing. U.S. withdrew its forces in early 1984

Initially, Syria had a 40,000-strong force, which has decline to 15,000 currently.

The resultant uprising had been crushed when the then U.S. President Eisenhower sent in U.S. Marines

In 2000, David Wurmser, Vice President Dick Cheney's adviser on the Middle East, helped draft a document entitled "Ending Syria's Occupation of Lebanon: the U.S. Role?" It called for a confrontation with Syria accusing it of developing "weapons of mass destruction." (Auken)

It is surprising because the U.S. government has previously been extremely eager to accuse Al-Qaeda of almost every terrorist act around the world.

Specific examples of countries with such undemocratic regimes that are tolerated by the U.S. include Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.