Well, it's been a nice period for the past two weeks. But I neglected this blog a bit and it seems I have to catch up on writing a few things here. In the meantime I read this on Naharnet.
Syria has boosted its military presence along the northern border with Lebanon, although Damascus stressed that the move is linked to a crackdown against smugglers.
"Nearly 10,000 Syrian special forces have been deployed in the Abboudieh region along the border between Lebanon and Syria," a Lebanese army spokesman said.
"We asked Damascus for clarification and we were told that the measures were strictly internal and on Syrian territory, and that they were in no way directed against Lebanon," he added.
The spokesman said the Syrian authorities have assured the Lebanese army that the build-up is aimed at cracking down on smuggling and other crime along the border.
The strengthened deployment is visible from the Lebanese side of the border.
Al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Tuesday said the Syrian deployment was "nothing but a cover-up" for digging wells along the border.
It said Syrian trucks have carried out a similar operation a few weeks ago on the Lebanese part of the village of Wadi al-Ashaer in Rashaya province.
Al Mustaqbal said the digging only stopped following the personal intervention of President Michel Suleiman.
Meanwhile, the daily Asharq al-Awsat quoted political sources as expressing fear that the Syrian move was likely a cover-up provided by Turkey or even France for any action to be taken against "extremists" in north Lebanon.
The sources, however, ruled out any U.S. cover-up for this measure.
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