The Lebanese love a good party, and this was the biggest, boldest, brassiest the country had ever seen. The color theme was the red and white of Lebanon’s flag; the crowds, emboldened by their numbers, swayed in a patriotic rave; they chanted the slogans beloved by today’s young “revolutionaries”: Independence, Democracy, Freedom, Sovereignty, Truth, Justice.

If hope was a commodity, Lebanon was never richer than on March 14, 2005.

Ten years on, those intricately involved in Lebanon’s “Independence Intifada” still speak with intensity about its metamorphosis, beginning with the violent assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri on February 14 and culminating with the withdrawal of 14,000 Syrian troops on April 26.

A resounding success? Well…yes and no. The Syrians left the country, probably a lot faster than anyone could have anticipated. Syrians out – check.

Syria’s political apparatus in Lebanon was dismantled in short shrift by its freshly-galvanized adversaries. Neuter Syria’s allies – check.