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2005 Ron Paul Chapter 24
Not linked on Ron Paul’s Congressional website.
Congressional Record [.PDF]
Honoring The Life And Legacy Of Former Lebanese Prome Minister Rafik Hariri
16 February 2005
HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
2005 Ron Paul 24:1
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in expressing condolences to the family
of Mr. Hariri, the families of others killed in
the attack that took Mr. Hariri’s life, and the
people of Lebanon. While I support this legislation
expressing sorrow over the murders, I
do have some concerns that H. Res. 91 is
being waved as a red flag to call for more
U.S. intervention in the Middle East.
2005 Ron Paul 24:2
It is unfortunate that tragic occurrences like these are all too often used by those who wish
to push a particular foreign policy. We don’t
really know who killed Mr. Hariri. Maybe an
agent of the Syrian government killed him.
Then again any of several other governments
or groups in the Middle East or even beyond
could be responsible. But already we are
hearing from those who want to use this murder
to justify tightening sanctions against
Syria, forcing Syrian troops to leave Lebanon
immediately, or even imposing U.S. military
intervention against Syria. Just yesterday we
heard that the U.S. ambassador to Syria has
been withdrawn.
2005 Ron Paul 24:3
The problem is that these calls for U.S. intervention ignore the complexities of Lebanon’s
tragic recent history, and its slow return
from the chaos of the civil war — a revival in
which Mr. Hariri played a praiseworthy role.
We should remember, however, that it was the
Lebanese government itself that requested assistance
from Syria in 1976, to help keep
order in the face of a civil war where Maronite
Christians battled against Sunnis and Druze.
This civil war dragged on until a peace treaty
was agreed to in 1989. The peace was maintained
by the Syrian presence in Lebanon. So,
while foreign occupation of any country
against that country’s will is to be condemned,
it is not entirely clear that this is the case with
Syrian involvement in Lebanon. Hariri himself
was not a supporter of immediate Syrian withdrawal
from Lebanon. What most won’t say
here is that Syria has indeed been slowly withdrawing
forces from Lebanon. Who is to say
that this is not the best approach to avoid a
return to civil war? Yet, many are convinced
that we must immediately blame Syria for this
attack and we must “do something” to avenge
something that has nothing whatsoever to do
with the United States.
2005 Ron Paul 24:4
So, while I do wish to express my sympathy over the tragic death of Rafik Hariri, I hope
that my colleagues would refrain from using
this tragedy to push policies of more U.S.
interventionism in the Middle East.
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