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Last week, the governments of Syria and Lebanon announced that Syrian forces in Lebanon would be redeployed outside of Lebanese population centers and that Damascus even intends to pull about half of its troops completely out of Lebanon. Syrian sources stressed that these steps are in keeping with the 1989 Taef Agreement that ended the Lebanese civil war. But they also admitted that they are a signal to the international community, and especially the United States, that Syria is responsive to voices from Washington demanding Syrian respect for Lebanese sovereignty and the withdrawal of Syrian forces.