On the one year anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese figure Rafiq Hariri, Robert Fisk asks some questions and finds uncomfortable answers:
“The Americans, deep in distress in their occupation of Iraq, have hatched a deal with the Syrians. In response to a request that the Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada Sadr keep his distance from the Iraqi Sunni insurgents and play by the ball in the elections, Syria has promised to use its ‘influence’.
“In response to an American appeal, Syria has arrested up to 8,000 Iraqi insurgents inside its borders. In response to a plea by Washington, it is cutting back on the assistance that the Iraqi rebels receive from inside Syria.”
While the US talks tough over Syria, it seems, as ever, the official line is rather different to reality.