[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 18 (Thursday, February 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1581-S1582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              LEBANON'S FORMER PRIME MINISTER RAFIQ HARIRI

  Mr. FRIST. Madam President, on leader time, I will make a very brief 
statement on the assassination of Rafiq Hariri.
  On behalf of the Senate, I will spend these few moments to rise and 
condemn in the harshest terms the cowardly and despicable assassination 
of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
  Monday, as Rafiq Hariri's motorcade was traveling along Beirut's 
Corniche seafront, a car bomb loaded with 600 pounds of explosives 
detonated, killing the former Prime Minister and 13 others.
  Our condolences go out to the Hariri family and the people of 
Lebanon. They have lost a great man, and they have lost a beloved 
leader.
  Rafiq Hariri served as Prime Minister in the aftermath of a 
devastating civil war that wrecked the country for 15 years. Over his 
10 years in office, Prime Minister Hariri helped to revitalize the 
Lebanese economy and rebuild its shattered infrastructure, including 
the rebirth of Beirut's historic downtown district. His murder is a 
direct attack on the aspirations of the Lebanese people, and an attack 
on civilization itself.
  We demand an investigation, and we demand that the killers, and any 
backers of the killers, be brought to justice.
  Further, we strongly urge that Syria withdraw its 14,000 troops and 
intelligence personnel in accordance with the United Nations Security 
Council Resolution 1559 and the Syria Accountability and Lebanese 
Sovereignty Restoration Act passed by this body in 2003.
  We support the President's decision to recall our Ambassador from 
Syria and urge the President to restrict the mobility of Syrian 
diplomats in Washington, DC, and at the United Nations in New York 
City.
  Furthermore, we urge the President to seek a United Nations Security 
Council resolution that establishes an independent investigation into 
the assassination of the Prime Minister.
  Today, the Lebanese people mourn the murder of a great leader. They 
line the streets--Christian, Druze, and Sunni--in an extraordinary show 
of unity.
  Our message to them is clear: ``The United States Senate stands with 
you. Your voices will be heard.''
  I yield the floor.

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