Lebanon to Syria: Buh-Bye!

I learned of this excellent David Ignatius piece about the departure of Syrian intelligence from its Beirut headquarters today through RealClear Politics. The whole thing is a riveting must-read.

The most frightening spot in Beirut over the past 20 years was Syrian intelligence headquarters at the Beau Rivage hotel. This was a place most Lebanese mentioned only in whispers. When the local newspapers had to discuss something controversial involving the Syrians, they would often refer to them with circumlocution, "a regional power," say, for fear that the men from the Beau Rivage would come and get them. Or worse, come and shoot them.

So you have to imagine what it must have felt like Wednesday morning when Lebanese citizens saw that the Syrian intelligence officers had packed up and left the Beau Rivage before dawn -- tiptoeing away from a city they had intimidated for so long and from a people who had grown to despise them.

Good riddance!

-- CAV