Damascus, Syria
Syria still has intelligence agents in Lebanon and may be targeting people for assassination, the Bush administration charged this week. “There are reports that we have been hearing about for some time about Syrian hit lists, targeting key Lebanese public figures,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. In April, under U.S. and U.N. pressure, Syria withdrew the last of the 15,000 troops it had stationed in Lebanon since 1976, and it was supposed to have withdrawn the secret police as well. But Lebanese opposition leaders say some Syrian agents remain. Damascus denied the reports, calling them “as credible as the story of Iraq’s WMDs.” A leading anti-Syrian politician, Rafik Hariri, was assassinated in February. Earlier this month, anti-Syrian journalist, Samir Kassir, was also murdered.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of CanadaThe Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
Facial recognition: a revolution in policingTalking Point All 43 police forces in England and Wales are set to be granted access, with those against calling for increasing safeguards on the technology
-
Sudoku hard: December 14, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
