A Decade after former prime minister Rafiq Hariri was assassinated, hopes that the fallout from his death would free Leba**n from Syria's influence have been dashed by the war raging across the border. In the months that followed, a popular movement that accused Damascus of his killing forced Syrian troops out of Leba**n after a 30-year presence. Many in the country saw the Syrian withdrawal as a chance for Leba**n to shake off the influence of its larger neighbour and its perpetual status as a pawn in wider regional struggles. Yet the Lebanese public and analysts **w see little cause for hope, with Syria's civil war deepening divisions that emerged after Hariri's death.