Capt Ed Morrissey has an item today on a NYTimes article which states the US clearly warned Syria to stay out of Lebanon, and that the US is aware of plans to assasinate Lebanon’s leaders. The Times is clear on this subject:

The United States has received “credible information” that Syrian operatives in Lebanon plan to try to assassinate senior Lebanese political leaders and that Syrian military intelligence forces are returning to Lebanon to create “an environment of intimidation,” a senior administration official said Thursday.

This is not hard to believe given the assassination of an outspoken reporter in Lebanon recently.

Capt. Ed is right to point out this is not a simple leak, but a clear shot across the bow of Syria and the international community:

This couldn’t even properly be called a leak, as its intention is so obvious that “unsigned press release” makes a better nomenclature for it. Bush already has plenty of evidence that Syria has lent material support for the insurgents in Iraq, and their continuing efforts to meddle in Lebanon after their abrupt departure violates the UN Security Council’s resolutions calling for them to cease interfering in Beirut’s affairs.

What we need to watch is how Syria responds. I do not hold out much hope for them to pull back and desist in their efforts to destabilize Lebanon. I am not sure Assad has sufficient control over his country to stop those forces ready to take on the US. I have serious doubts Syria will pull back from the brink because the fanatical forces inside the country know they either die-out through political change or go down fighting. Jihadists have been consistent in one thing, they like to go down fighting.