Syria Pledges 'Coordinated Withdrawl' from Lebanon

By Jacki Lyden,

Ivan Watson

Published March 5, 2005 at 12:00 AM EST

In a rare address to Syria's Parliament, President Bashar Assad says he is taking steps to pull his nation's military forces from Lebanon and tells the United Nations that his plan is to make a "coordinated withdrawl." Assad's speech was watched by thousands of protesters in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Jacki Lyden

Longtime listeners recognize Jacki Lyden's voice from her frequent work as a substitute host on NPR. As a journalist who has been with NPR since 1979, Lyden regards herself first and foremost as a storyteller and looks for the distinctive human voice in a huge range of national and international stories.

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Ivan Watson

Ivan Watson is currently based in Istanbul, Turkey. Following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, he has served as one of NPR's foreign "firemen," shuttling to and from hotspots around the Middle East and Central Asia.