and Annan is sending a verification team back to Lebanon to check on Syria's withdrawal.

In an interview with Marcel Ghanem on LBCI TV's Kalam el Nass Jumblatt said : "The entire opposition is targeted. It seems that there is a decision somewhere taken with or without President Assad's knowledge to complete a list of assassinations and keep up a subversion campaign."

During the same interview Jumblatt revealed the following:

- A list of Syrian intelligence generals still operating in many parts of Lebanon. The list includes the most hated Syrian in Lebanon, former military intelligence chief Rustom Ghazaleh, who was seen lunching in a Bekaa Valley restaurant last week.

- Ghazaleh has sabotaged an election alliance between Elie Skaff and Hariri's Tayyar Al Mustaqbal in Zahleh.

- Brigadier Ali Diab and Brig. Ali Jabbour are touring the Chouf and Brig. Ali Rabah is enquiring about Jumblatt's escorts.

- Abu Michel, the former officer in charge of national security in Shtaura, stayed behind not to monitor Israeli agents but to keep up the tutelage and subversion.

- Jameh Jameh, Syrian security officer who was in charge of Beirut's southern suburbs, still has an office functioning in the Dahieh.

All the above mentioned intelligence officers were supposed to have left Lebanon by April 28, 2005, as Syria has reported to the UN. Syria obviously cheated. These officers, did a U turn and came right back.

This now clearly explains why the opposition has accused Syria and their Lebanese collaborators in the killing of Samir Kassir. Kassir, the Al Nahar newspaper columnist was known for his anti Syrian views.

. Is Syria then trying to liquidate all the Lebanese opposition leadership?
. For how long can Syria continue to deny any involvement?
. Is Jumblatt next ? This is what on Jumblatt's mind. Obviously there is a solid ground for concern on his part.

Jumblatt is not the only one concerned about the presence of Syrian intelligence in Lebanon.

As reported by Reuters, "U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to send a U.N. verification team back to Lebanon to see if Syrian intelligence agents were still in the country, U.N. officials and diplomats said on Friday".

The U.N. verification team reported on May 23 that Syria had withdrawn its soldiers but said there was no way to determine if plainclothes agents were still in the country. Jumblatt, it seems has the list of these plainclothes agents, as he revealed in the aforementioned interview.

France and the United States have also been concerned about Syria's motives. They have been urging Annan to send the verification mission to Lebanon again but the secretary-general was reluctant to do so, believing the team would return with the same inconclusive report.

The White House welcomed Annan's decision and said it hoped the U.N. team would stay in Lebanon throughout the parliamentary election process underway this month.

"We want to see them there through the period of the elections and the cabinet formation in order to better clarify reports of Syria's continued intelligence presence and to deter any further efforts to derail the democratic process that is underway," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

On Friday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that Washington had received information about a "Syrian hit list targeting key Lebanese public figures of various political and religious persuasions, for assassination."

President Bush also said on Friday that he was disturbed by reports of covert Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs and went on to say:
"Obviously we're going to follow up on these troubling reports, and we expect the Syrian government to follow up on these troubling reports,"

US Secretary of State, Rice said in an interview with PBS in Washington ,DC: "There is a pattern now of assassination of key figures because that would be very, very destabilizing in Lebanon and I think it would have to point a finger at those forces that have been destabilizing in Lebanon," Rice went on to say: "We need to be very clear that we expect a full investigation of the assassination of Mr. Kassir, following on the assassination of Mr. Hariri," clearly linking Syria's secret service to the Hariri and Kassir assassinations.

It is high time that the Syrians are told point blank that they were caught cheating and should be given an ultimatum to pull all their spies immediately out of Lebanon. Lebanon deserves a break !

Sources: Ya Libnan, Reuters, Naharnet, PBS, ,