The Bush Administration is reconsidering its position on Syria's ongoing occupation of Lebanon in light of yesterday's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In fact, the White House appears to be placing a large part of the blame for Hariri's death on Damascus.

'We condemn this brutal attack in the strongest possible terms,' said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. He called the murder 'a terrible reminder that the Lebanese people must be able to pursue their aspirations and determine their own political future free from violence and intimidation and free from Syrian occupation.'

President Bush is apparently considering bringing tougher sanctions to bear on Syria, a country which Bush has already claimed supports terrorism in the Middle East and the insurgency in Iraq. Some sanctions are already in place against Syria for its support of terrorism but now the president is considering making them tougher.

Syria has denied having any involvement in the assassination but since Syria controls the government of Lebanon and Hariri has recently joined the opposition against the government, suspicion is ripe.

Today in southern Lebanon, mobs attacked a group of Syrian workers and threw stones at Syrian government offices in Beirut because people were blaming Syria for killing Hariri.

Experts fear that Syria may return to the chaos and civil war that lasted from 1975-1990.