Lebanon for another 15 years. Cedar Revolution The Syrian invasion was "forced" under international pressure to withdraw its forces from Lebanon, after the political upheaval and large scale street protests which followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (see Cedar Revolution); at the end of April 2005, Sfeir was at times a vocal critic of Syrian prevarication in carrying out its pledge to withdraw, up until around 2003, falling silent again just as anti-Syrian views were becoming more widespread. His restraint in his comments at this time appeared to have lost him the support, in particular, of a majority among those Christians who had fled the country. The cardinal also urged restraint in anti-Syrian rhetoric, and for Lebanon to focus on its economic development rather than political rifts. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese (mostly Christians) gathered in Bkerke and the roads leading to it on 27 March 2001, to welcome back the cardinal from a tour in the United States, during which he asked for the withdrawal of the Syrian army. He blessed in 2001 the establishment of Christian Qornet Shehwan Gathering opposed to the Syrian role and in the aftermath of the Hariri assassination he restated his opposition to Syria's predominant role in Lebanese politics, and the political changes following Syrian withdrawal appeared to have largely restored his previous position as the main spokesperson for his community. Reaction to political paralysis In the first half of 2006 the cardinal was critical of the political paralysis created by the controversy over whether President Émile Lahoud should serve the remainder of his term of office (which was specially extended under Syrian pressure in 2004 until November 2007). At the same time, he stressed that Lahoud should be removed only by lawful and constitutional means and that the continued smooth functioning of government and a national consensus on his successor were the main priorities. In order to discuss the July 2006 Israel-Lebanon war and American policy on the affair, he met with Vice President Dick Cheney at the White House, and later talked with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Relations with the Free Patriotic Movement On 15 October 2006, the Christian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) held gatherings in which anti-patriarchal slogans were raised, denouncing Cardinal Sfeir's political stands which they consider contradictory to the will of the FPM Christians in Lebanon. The FPM bloc, led by retired general and