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Gargantuan Anti-Syria Protest In Beirut.

In the past, WILLisms.com has noted the rumblings of democracy and freedom in the Middle East, in Egypt for instance, but especially in Lebanon.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese protestors turned out to demand that Syria full withdraw its troops immediately, chanting:

"Freedom, sovereignty, independence."

Some estimates put the size of the crowd at over one million strong. Whether the crowd was 800 thousand or 2 million, this demonstration was amazingly huge.

Crowds of this size are truly unprecedented in Lebanon. And they are going to be absolutely crucial to the cause of full Syrian withdrawal. Without the persistent efforts of masses of protestors and the pressure of the international community, Syria may attempt to only partially withdraw.

Pictures often can say it better than words:

(Is that Courtney Love?)

This is precisely what the President's vision for shaking up the Middle East entailed. And it is coming to fruition beautifully in Lebanon. Freedom is on the march, and the Ba'athists and jihadis know it. There is very little they can do at this point to stop the inertia of liberty once it gets going.

UPDATE:

Captain's Quarters Blog has more typically great analysis:

Westerners worried that the massive show by Hezbollah would intimidate the democrats in Lebanon, and in fact it appeared initially to stun them. In the momentary respite, Assad got Omar Karami back in charge of the Lebanese government through the efforts of pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud. Even with Syrian troops streaming eastward, it looked like Assad had reversed momentum.

Now, however, it looks like the democrats have more strength than ever, so much so that the Lebanese collaborationists have asked both sides to stop holding street demonstrations and use Parliament to make their demands known. They may have miscalculated by putting Karami back in charge. It tipped their hand, showing their loyalty to Damascus over Beirut, and the protestors in the streets tell them that without Damascus, their days in power are numbered.

The Syrians are leaving. So will Lahoud, Karami, and the rest of Assad's toadies. The only question is when, and if Lebanon continues to rise up for its independence, that question will get answered soon.

Meanwhile, Wizbang blog jokes, "My Protest is Bigger Than Your Protest."

UPDATE 2:

"...Or Does It Explode" blog offers more:

...when you have a group funded by Iran (i.e., Hezbollah) holding a gender-segregated rally with a blatantly contradictory message ("No to Foreign Intervention" and "Thank you, Syria") you are not the wave of the future.

At least for today, the wave of the future is the "Human Tsunami" overflowing Beirut. Mabruk, guys and gals! Bien fait!

Publius Pundit blog, meanwhile, has much more.

Light Seeking Light blog argues:

The model, of course, is Ukraine. The outcome might be far less satisfactory. All depends on what Assad and Hizbollah are willing to do to short-circuit the opposition.

Posted by Will Franklin · 14 March 2005 12:49 PM

Comments

Posted by: D.B. Light at March 15, 2005 12:04 AM

Posted by: Linda Franklin at March 15, 2005 07:49 AM

Posted by: Nortius Maximus at April 14, 2005 11:10 PM

Posted by: Tarek at June 5, 2005 04:25 PM