Lebanon becomes free of Syrian rule today, the latest in a series of Middle East/Persian Gulf nations to be rid of totalitarianism.

Jeremy Brown:

It would seem that the departure of Syrian troops from Lebanon is or will in a few hours be complete. That should be the big news in tomorrow's papers. It will be interesting to see whether that's anything like the case.

Well, it's not, really. But on the plus side, Iran's not happy!

(Iran President Mohammed) Khatami said that the upcoming Lebanese elections “must not lead to differences between the influential groups”, and also warned that “instability in Syria would be a catastrophe for the region and have harmful effects on Lebanon.”

Sounds like he's not exactly leading the anti-totalitarian cheering section.

Why is it a big deal? Michael Totten, who is in Lebanon, writes;

It's important to understand that the democratic opposition in this country not only wants Syria out, democracy in, and the remaining militias (Hezbollah and Amal) disarmed. Just as urgently they want to bury tribalism and hatred forever.

Hate is and has been Lebanon's weapon of mass destruction.

For the anti-war left, that was a major piece of the platform: attacking the "root cause" so that armed conflict didn't have to take place. How many of those on the left today will mention this victory for root-cause politics?!

For those keeping track: Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and now Lebanon have rid themselves of dangerous totalitarian leadership; Libya has gotten out of the WMD business; And Saudi Arabia and Egypt are crawling to democracy.

No wonder Iran is not pleased. They can read a map like anybody else.