Argument

In Syria, there is a troop buildup along Lebanon's northern border. >>

The Syrian troop buildup along Lebanon's northern border is aimed at cracking down on smugglers. -- According to Bashar Assad, President of Syria >>

The Syrian troop buildup along Lebanon's northern border is in line with a U.N. resolution requiring the tightening of the border. -- According to Bashar Assad, President of Syria, in a telephone call with Michel Sulaiman, President of Lebanon >>

Any intervention by Syrian troops into Lebanon would be unacceptable. [...] The recent terrorist attacks that took place in Tripoli and Damascus should not serve as a pretext for further Syrian military engagement." -- Robert Wood, deputy spokesman of US State Department, told reporters in Washington >>

The United States is a backer of Lebanon's army. >>

In Lebanon anti-Syrian politicians are worried that Syria could intervene militarily in Lebanon under the pretext of cracking down on Sunni extremists. >>

Lebanon's ruling coalition urged the Arab League to protect the country from what it said were Syrian attempts to block the long-overdue election. "We call on the Arab League to protect independent Lebanon from destruction by the Syrian regime, and its terrorism aimed at shaking Lebanon's stability," the statement said ahead of a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday. >>

In Syria, President Bashar Assad warned of the threat posed by Sunni fundamentalists, saying “extremist forces” were operating in northern Lebanon and looking to destabilise Syria. >>

In Damascus a car bomb killed 17 people. It was blamed on Suni extremists. >>