SYRIA'S ASSAD SALUTES LEBANESE AND PALESTINIAN BACKERS AT ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATION, 2003-03-09 (photo)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad waves from a presidential palace balcony at thousands of Lebanese and Palestinian who poured from neighbouring Lebanon to voice support for his stance against a U.S. war in Iraq March 9, 2003. The crowd marched through the streets of the Syrian capital after demonstrating at the Lebanese presidential palace earlier this morning. Syria, the only Arab non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is expected to vote against a resolution that gives Iraq a deadline to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction or face war. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri IE/WS