By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer LONDON - The United States called for an immediate end to Syrian military and political dominion over neighboring Lebanon on Tuesday, applying its strongest pressure to date.  "The Syrians are out of step with where the region is going and out of step with the aspirations of the people of the Middle East," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. She blamed terrorists operating in Syria for last week's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Rice said there was gathering international resolve that Syria must pull out of Lebanon and allow the Lebanese to choose their own political future. That choice must be independent of "contaminating influences," she said, underscoring a joint U.S.-French statement on Tuesday and a United Nations resolution last fall.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he expected Syrian troops to pull out of Lebanon in a few months, as hundreds of Lebanese protesters returned to central Beirut on Tuesday demanding Syria quit their country. Syria has 14,000 troops in Lebanon, but its dominant role in the country has come under increasing pressure as a result of mass demonstrations sparked by the assassination last month of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Two weeks of unprecedented protests forced the pro-Syrian cabinet of Prime Minister Omar Karami to step down on Monday, piling pressure on Damascus, and left officials with a complicated search for a new premier.

BEIRUT (AFP) - Thousands of people defied a government ban and massed in the heart of Beirut as Lebanese parliament held a stormy debate set to culminate in a vote of no-confidence in the pro-Syrian regime.  The anti-Syria rally came exactly two weeks after the assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri which triggered a wave of public opposition against the Lebanese government and its backers in Damascus who are blamed for the murder. Waving large red and white Lebanese flags and shouting "Syria out!" protesters descended on Martyrs' Square where Hariri is buried as hundreds of heavily armed troops and police guarded surrounding streets but did not prevent the rally.

By Lucy Fielder BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Syrian-backed government banned protests planned for Monday but a main opposition figure vowed the Lebanese would take to the streets to demand who killed former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri. Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh called on security forces in a statement on Sunday "to take all necessary steps to preserve security and order and prevent demonstrations and gatherings on Monday." Opposition groups have called a protest at the central Martyrs Square by Hariri's grave and a one-day strike to coincide with a parliamentary debate on the killing that for many recalled Lebanon's bitter 1975-90 civil war.