Syria - No Partial Withdrawal

Bush says a partial withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon is not acceptable.

"There are no half-measures at all," Bush said during an event in New Jersey. "When the United States and France say withdraw, we mean complete withdrawal, no half-hearted measures."

It was a reiteration of what the president told The Post Thursday during an exclusive Oval Office interview: "When the United States says something, it must mean it. That's what I meant when I said, 'Remove all your troops,' not just 'remove 94 percent of them.' "

This, he said, "is non-negotiable" — and he made clear that withdrawal means more than just removing the military presence.

"I mean all [Syrians] out of Lebanon, particularly the secret service out of Lebanon — the intelligence services," he said. And that, he noted, would allow what was once an unimaginable prospect: "a Lebanon that is able to express itself freely at the ballot box."

Now that France, Russia and even the Saudis are behind Bush, Assad is in a box.
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