LEBANESE EXILE Aoun asks local lawyer to accompany him home

Edward Saadi once helped the ex-prime minister prepare to testify before Congress.
WASHINGTON -- A Youngstown lawyer will accompany former Lebanese Prime Minister Michel Aoun when he returns to Lebanon after 15 years in exile.
Aoun, who was exiled to Paris after leading a failed attempt to liberate Lebanon from Syrian hegemony in 1990, has invited a handful of individuals to accompany him on his triumphant return home to Lebanon. Among them is Edward T. Saadi, 34, a local attorney.
"This will be a historic day, not only in Lebanese history, but in the history of freedom and democracy," Saadi said. "Imagine being with Charles de Gaulle on his return to Paris after the defeat of the Nazis. This is the modern-day equivalent."
Background
Aoun, a general and former commander of Lebanon's armed forces, was the country's prime minister from 1988 to 1990. During that time, Aoun attempted to liberate the country from Syrian occupation. "Michel Aoun was Lebanon's last legitimate head of state. ... The legitimate Lebanese government headed by Aoun was overthrown in a Syian-backed coup d'etat," said Saadi. "Every Lebanese head of state after Michel Aoun has been a puppet of Syria."
Saadi was selected by Aoun because of his involvement in the passage of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003, which according to Saadi "called for a radical change in U.S. policy toward Lebanon from one of tolerance to one of zero tolerance." When Aoun was asked to testify in favor of that legislation in front of a Congressional subcommittee last year, he called upon Saadi to co-author his testimony and prepare him for his interrogation by the Committee.
Under international pressure, the last Syrian soldier withdrew from Lebanon last week. Saadi says the return of 'the General' is "symbolic of the restoration of Lebanon's independence and sovereignty."