(2005-02-25) — In response to international pressure, Syria again announced today that it would begin to comply with the 1989 Arab-brokered Taif accord, this time by reducing Syrian military “boots on the ground” in Lebanon by 50 percent.

“Starting today, our troops stationed in Lebanon will never have more than one boot on the ground at a time,” said Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem. “This will be an inconvenience to our men, who must now hop rather than march, but it effectively reduces our Lebanese footprint by 50 percent.”

The announcement reaffirms Syria’s long-standing intention to fulfill its 1989 commitment to withdraw from Lebanon, and was greeted with enthusiasm at the United Nations.

“Syria’s concession again proves that peace agreements with dictatorships are effective tools of international diplomacy,” said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. “It is more evidence that the Bush doctrine of forced freedom is counterproductive in our enlightened age.”

Mr. Annan said the United Nations will send a contingent of blue-helmeted, but unarmed, troops to monitor compliance with the new single-boot protocol.