In the first "test" of its new policy....

....the administration appears to be standing up to its word, condemning Syria for the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, and recalling the American ambassador to Syria.

The United States has called its ambassador home from Syria while expressing "profound outrage" over the assassination of a Lebanese leader who had protested Syrian influence in Lebanon.

"We believe the Lebanese people must be free to express their political preferences and choose their own representatives without intimidation or the threat of violence," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Tuesday in announcing the imminent return of U.S. Ambassador Margaret Scobey.

Meanwhile, international leaders were gathering Wednesday in Beruit for the funeral of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who died Monday in a massive explosion that also killed 16 other people and injured scores.

His death prompted many Lebanese to take to the streets to demand that Syria withdraw its 15,000 soldiers — in the country for more than a decade.

U.S. officials stopped short of directly accusing Syria of carrying out the murder, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the assassination was the "proximate cause" of the ambassador's recall.

Of course, Syria is an easy call. They're already on our bad side.

The true test will come when an ally does something worth of disapprobation.