Israel the prime suspect in former Lebanon Prime Minister Hariri's Assassination

[link to www.politicalaffairs.net]
Rafiq Hariri's Assassination: Who Benefits?

Rafiq Hariri, Lebanon's five-times prime minister and billionaire tycoon was assassinated in a huge bomb blast in Beirut last Monday, February 14. A number of others were killed or wounded in the blast that left a trail of carnage and devastation.

Mr Hariri resigned as prime minister four months ago and was expected to run as a candidate in the Lebanese elections due in May.

The assassination plunged Lebanon into turmoil and raised fears for the country's stability.

Those responsible for the assassination have not been identified but this has not stopped the United States from blaming Syria without citing any evidence.

The US has a clear agenda in Lebanon. It would like to force the withdrawal of Syrian troops which have been there since 1976, when civil war was brought to an end. It would also like to replace the present pro-Syrian government with one that is favourably disposed towards Israel and the US.

Attempting to build a case against Syria, White House spokesman Scott McClellan claimed, "Mr Hariri was a fervent supporter of Lebanese independence, and worked tirelessly to rebuild a free, independent and prosperous Lebanon following its brutal civil war and despite its continued foreign occupation."

Scott McClellan failed to mention the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the occupation of the southern strip of Lebanese territory by pro-Israeli forces for many years.

While harping on about foreign occupation, the White House also omits mention of the occupation of Iraq and a number of other countries by the USA. Syria has only 14,000 troops in Lebanon while the US has about 150,000 occupation forces in Iraq.

Who benefits?

Short of concrete evidence, the assassination can only be analysed by considering who stands to gain from this bloody event.

When this question is asked, Syria can surely be ruled out as its leaders would know that in a climate where the US was already threatening Syria with sanctions and possible invasion, any incident which could be pinned on Syria's government would provide a ready excuse for the US to step up the
pressure. This is exactly what has happened.

Facing the same threats and pressure the governments of Iran and Syria have drawn closer together and agreed on mutual solidarity. Whether this means mutual military support in the event of a military or air attack on either of their countries by the US or Israel or both is not clear.

Iran's former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, speaking after meeting Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji al-Otari, said strengthening relations between Iran, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and other Islamic states in the region was of great importance.

Rafsanjani said that the United States and Israel were trying to create divisions among the region's countries, which must "stay completely vigilant vis-a-vis the US and Israeli plots in this regard."
Al-Otari said Israel was "the source of instability" in the Middle East.

Bogged down

Bogged down in Iraq, the US regards Syria as an easy target by which to expand its control over the Middle East. These plans are well coordinated with those of Israel. The objectives of both countries need a continuous state of instability in the region.

From within the ranks of the US administration there is strong pressure on Bush from the Christian Right and others with strong links to the right-wing Likud bloc in Israel, for the US to move into Lebanon. The killing of Hariri sets the scene for such a move.

These forces include David Wurmser, Vice President Dick Cheney's adviser on the Middle East. Wurmser played a leading role in the creation of a Pentagon intelligence unit that sought to fabricate a case for linking the Iraqi regime with al Qaida in the months leading up to the US invasion.

In 1996, Wurmser co-authored a report for incoming Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Called A Clean Break: a New Strategy for Securing the Realm it advocated the repudiation of the "land for peace" formula which was the basis for peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine and the "rolling back" of Israel's regional adversaries. The plan advocated the overthrow of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein and recommended Israeli strikes against "Syrian targets in Lebanon" and within Syria itself.

Douglas Feith, the current undersecretary for policy at the US Defense Department and Richard Perle, the former chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board were co-authors of the report.

In 2000, Wurmser helped draft a document entitled Ending Syria's Occupation of Lebanon: the US Role? It called for a confrontation with Syria accusing it of developing "weapons of mass destruction".

Does this sound familiar? Among those who signed the document were Feith and Perle, as well as Elliot Abrams, Bush's chief adviser on the Middle East, who was recently appointed deputy national security adviser.

Israel's interests in attacking Syria are easily seen. The Israeli rulers have not given up their intentions of thieving more and more Palestinian land and thwarting all moves towards the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. This would lead to the explusion of many Jewish settlers who have occupied Palestinian land. It would create the possibility for the return of many of the Palestinian diaspora to their homeland.

The long range Israeli plans require a continual state of instability not only in their relations with the Palestinians but with neighbouring Arab states as well.

Syria has provided sanctuary to Palestinian groups that have opposed Israel, including Hamas. Israel hopes that by removing Syrian troops from Lebanon and installing a more pro-Israeli government it would be possible to force Lebanon to grant citizenship to the estimated 400,000 Palestinian refugees inside that country. Thus, one of the Palestinian demands — the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland now under Israeli occupation — will be dealt with to Israel's advantage.

So the motives leading to the assassination are clear. It should not be forgotten that Israel's intelligence agency Mossad has a long history of state-sponsored political assassinations in the region.

Since 2002, Mossad has been headed by Meir Dagan, who formerly commanded the Israeli occupation zone in Lebanon. Sharon reportedly gave Dagan a mandate to revive the traditional methods of Mossad, including assassinations abroad.

The murder of Rafiq Hariri is a brutal warning that the US war in Iraq is only the beginning of a wider campaign for US and Israeli dominance in the region.

Mustafa al-Naser a former consultant of the assassinated Rafiq Hariri said: "The assassination of Hariri is Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad's job, aimed at creating political tension in Lebanon.

"Beyond doubt, the peace, stability, and high level security prevailing in Lebanon in recent years, in creation of which all Lebanese groups play a harmonious role, is in direct contrast with Israel's political intentions for the region...", he said.

Cartoons of Israeli assassination:

[link to www.adl.org]

Newspapers

• "… With an unhurried inspection we will find that Israel is the biggest beneficiary from al-Hariri's assassination, regardless of whether the investigations prove Israel's involvement or not …" Husein Thabit, "Al-Hariri: Silence that Is Deeper than any Word", al-Ahram (Egypt), February 26, 2005

• "… In fact, a more likely suspect is Israel, as stated by Syrian Information Minister Mehdi Dakhlallah. For Israel, a war-torn Lebanon would provide fit ground for it to infiltrate to carry out covert operations in the Middle East. Israel would also benefit greatly from eliminating a man who re-built Beirut, Israel's traditional enemy, making it, in his own words, the "Singapore of the Middle East". By killing him, it would also help incriminate Damascus and give more reasons for the neo-cons in Washington to pursue their agenda against Syria …" Sami Mubayyid (A Syrian political analyst), "All Eyes on Damascus", al-Ahram Weekly (Egypt), February 17-23, 2005

• "… Yet we must not ignore the Jews, for they are the peak of treachery and the peak of dissention sowing between full brothers …" Salih al-Harithi (Readers' comments,) "Why, Are Not the Jews the Ones Who Did it? – Very Possible", ar-Riyad (Saudi Arabia), February 19, 2005

• "… Whoever reflects on the circumstances that surround al-Hariri's assassination and the consequences that might result from it, understands that excluding Israel is not possible, especially if we know that the return of civil war to Lebanon means that the return of the relationship between internal Lebanese elements and Israel is possible. Israel tried and is trying to revenge its honor, after it ran away from southern Lebanon …" Hani Badr ad-Din, "Lebanon Enters Iraq's Whirlpool," al-Ahram (Egypt), February 19, 2005

• "…It is now logical and legitimate to also inquire as to the extent of the Israeli secret services' involvement in this act, and the accusation of Damascus in the context of the continuing pressures and the mad campaign against Syria. The purpose is to bring back the atmosphere of civil war to Lebanon …" Mas'ud al-Hanawi, "Who Is the Killer?" al-Aharm (Egypt), February 17, 2005

• "… The choice of civil war in Lebanon is the better choice for Israel when talking about Lebanon. This raises many questions as to the Israeli role in this crime, which has accomplished many strategic goals that Israel strives to accomplish in Lebanon". Ahmad Ibrahim, "Israel Considers Getting rid of al-Hariri the Most Important Positive Incident this Year," al-Ittihad (UAE), February 16, 2005

• "… This is one part among many of a great continuing conspiracy, which began perhaps more than half a decade ago when Israel was implanted in the heart of the Arab homeland … The planners and implementers of the crimes and assassinations, the merchants of wars and igniters of fires believe that the time is suitable for carrying out a new part of their conspiracy, by spreading chaos in the Lebanese arena and stirring up civil strife … Israel cannot be exonerated from al-Hariri's blood … Israel is the one who benefits the most …" 'Isam Dari (Tishrin editorial), "Before the Evil Occurs," Tishrin (Syria), February 16, 2005

• "… We believe that this criminal act cannot be isolated from all the international pressures and the Israeli conspiracy against Lebanon and Syria … Israel, which was forced to leave Lebanon still endeavors to destruct what Lebanon accomplished and to bring it back to a situation of chaos and weakness, in which Israel sees a direct interest for itself that will enable Israel to continue occupying the Sheeba farms and robbing the water and resources of southern Lebanon …" Omar Jaftali (editorial), "A Criminal Act in Any Standard," Tishrin (Syria), February 15, 2005

• "… Yet I have not heard nor seen anyone who points to the hidden fingers and the prime beneficiary from this crime. I believe that the finesse of planning and performance can only be mastered by the Mosad of the Zionist entity …" Khalid Ibn Rashid al-Hajji (Readers' comments), "Look for the Beneficiary If You Want to Know Who Did it," ar-Riyad (Saudi Arabia), February 15 2005

Wow. Iran points the finger at Israel. Who would have guessed that they would say that?.

[link to www.aljazeera.com]

Israel assassinated al-Hariri to 'face-off' Hezbollah
2/23/2005 1:00:00 PM GMT


The majority of the world's media believe Israel to be behind the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq al-Hariri and not Syria as some would like the world to believe.

One analysis says, "Syrian President Bashar-el-Assad's regime is desperately seeking to avoid providing U.S. President George W. Bush with a pretext for war and has urgently sought improved relations with Washington."

But the Bush administration and the Israeli Likud party, which provides the ideological foundation for Bush's foreign policy in the Middle East, aren't interested in improving relations.

What they want is the destabilisation of Syria so they can go after Hizbollah simple because "Israel would welcome Syria's implosion, as it did Iraq's. Hence current Israeli efforts to press the White House and Congress to overthrow Syria's ally Iran-itself a leading target on America's Mideast hit list."

Washington has totally adopted Israel's view that Syria is a dangerous threat and a supporter of…Palestinian resistance groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Lebanon's welfare and resistance organization Hezbollah.

Israel is determined to take revenge on Hezbollah, which defeated its attempts to turn Lebanon into an Israeli protectorate and drove Israeli occupation forces from Lebanon..

Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's rightist Likud Party may be renewing previous efforts to bring Lebanon back into Israel's sphere of influence."

But the finger of blame pointing at Israel doesn't stop at one analyst.

In Turkey, Prague, Paris, and elsewhere newspaper columnists and reporters put two and two together and came up with Israel.

"Israel involvement in the crime is a fait accompli, it doesn't need a fortune-teller to inform reality," writes Yeni Asya. "In Paris, L'Humanite Newspaper, for its part, said that Israel could be behind murdering Hariri, stressing that Israel has an interest in the crime, namely to be far away from the resumption of peace process which Syria repeatedly called for."

Iran's former ambassador to Syria Ali-Akbar Mohtashamipour believes the goal behind al-Hariri's assassination was to not only create ethnic conflict and civil war in Lebanon but also the "disarmament of the Islamic resistance forces in Lebanon," namely Hezbollah the Turkish Weekly reports.

Israel's humiliating forced withdrawal from southern Lebanon still irks the Likudites.

According to Mohtashamipour, "This was a big success for the Lebanese Hizbollah." Adding that today the Lebanese president, government and all the political parties including the Katayib party and phalanges, are among the staunchest supporters of Hizbollah, willing to see Islamic Resistance forces continue to guarantee security in southern Lebanon."

To put it bluntly: prevent Israel from re-invading and occupying the country.

But even if Syria removes its troops from Lebanon, Hezbollah will not be weakened as it enjoys widespread popular support.

During the Ashoura rally in Beirut, the group's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah told hundreds of thousands of people that "Resistance is the choice of our nation and the enemy cannot disparage us."

Asserting that the Bush administration is "an enemy to this nation because it supports Israel with money and weapons, because it wants to humiliate our people."

But 'defeating' Hezbollah is a far easier said than done.

One analysis in the Foreign Affairs journal maintains that "a U.S. military operation [against Hezbollah] would have to involve a sustained counterinsurgency campaign-something that Israel tried for 20 years, only to find that its efforts strengthened Hezbollah's resolve and increased its local and regional appeal.

In response to a U.S. attack, Hezbollah might activate its cells in Asia, Europe, and Latin America-and possibly in the U.S itself.
The United States, furthermore, is today in a far worse position militarily and diplomatically than it was before the war in Iraq. Occupying Iraq is tough enough; a fight in the Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon, would only make things worse."

Whether or not Washington and Tel Aviv will take it upon itself to do battle with Hezbollah remains to be seen. But until then, they will busy themselves with killing popular Lebanese leaders and attempt to get Syria evicted from Lebanon as a precursor to invading Syria and Iran-the latter, according to some, possibly as soon as June.

[link to www.mehrnews.ir]

Mossad behind Hariri assassination
TEHRAN, Feb. 15 (MNA) -- Former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri was killed in a massive bomb blast in central Beirut on Monday.

The explosion destroyed a number of public buildings and vehicles, showing that the complicated terrorist act was carried out by a well equipped organization.

The situation in Lebanon and the region is now so critical that any discord could cause a new crisis for this small but strategic country.

Lebanon, which has been the cradle of peaceful coexistence among different religious and ethnic groups, experienced a 15-year civil war due to a series of domestic, regional, and international factors in the 1970s and 1980s.

The war left thousands of Muslim and Christian civilians dead, causing Lebanon huge financial losses.

In 1990, the various groups finally put aside their differences and calm and national unity ruled the country again.

Then, following the Zionist army’s defeat in south Lebanon in 2000, Lebanon was once more put into the worldwide spotlight.

Lebanon eventually regained its regional economic position thanks to reconstruction and economic restoration, partly due to the efforts of the late Hariri.

However, regional and trans-regional powers such as the United States and the Zionist regime are trying to steer Lebanon toward a crisis, aiming to extend their military and political presence in some parts of the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

The United States’ strong support of UN Resolution 1559, which requires Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanese soil, is part of Washington’s plan to politically influence Lebanon and the region once again.

Israel and the U.S. seek to sever the spiritual and physical contacts between Syria and Lebanon in order to isolate Syria in the Middle East and check its political sway in the region.

Neither the Lebanese government nor the majority of its citizens want Syrian troops to quit their country.

However, if Syrian forces withdraw from Lebanese territory, it would surely pave the way for the political and military machinations of the United States and Israel.

The Lebanese and Syrian nations, due to their historical, ideological, and ethnic affinities, are in fact one nation in two separate lands. The regional and trans-regional powers must understand this and must realize that the two nations cannot be separated spiritually.

Now, the question is: Who benefited from the assassination of Hariri, a man who played a constructive role in the reestablishment of security in Lebanon?

All the evidence indicates that the Israeli intelligence service Mossad killed Hariri, since it had previously plotted to assassinate important Lebanese politicians.

The Mossad is trying to help the Zionist army claw its way back into Lebanon, since history has shown that the stability of Lebanon is not to the advantage of Israel.

Lebanon now faces a more complicated situation and should stay alert in order to thwart the Zionist regime’s plots to dominate the country once again.

It just proves that you can fool some of the people all of the time.

I am not so certain the Israel was the biggest beneficiary of Hariri's death. They may have thought so but I think it turned on them in a way.

Israel does not want Lebanon to be successful. This is stupid as a peaceful and successful Lebanon would benafit them greatly but like the typical jewish mindset they think creating chaos will help them. In fact it has weakened them and handed a victory to their enemies.

In my opinion the order came from Syria.

So where is the lapdog saying this anti-jew thread should be pinned?

[link to www.rense.com]

Hariri Reportedly Assassinated
To Make Way For Large
US Air Base In Lebanon

According to high-level Lebanese intelligence sources-Christian and Muslim-former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was reportedly assassinated in a sophisticated explosion-by-wire bombing authorized by the Bush administration and Ariel Sharon's Likud government in Israel.

There are also strong indications that the Hariri assassination was carried out by the same rogue Syrian intelligence agents used in the 2002 car bombing assassination of Lebanese Christian leader Elie Hobeika, who was prepared to testify against Sharon in a Brussels human rights court. That case involved the Israeli Prime Minister's role in the 1982 massacre by Israeli troops of Palestinian refugees at the Sabra and Chatilla camps in Beirut. The Hariri assasination used wire-bombing technology because Hariri's security personnel used electronic countermeasures to fend off a remote control bomb using wireless means. It has been revealed that the Bush administration has used Syrian intelligence agents to torture al Qaeda suspects through the program known as "extraordinary rendition."

Hariri, a pan-Arabist and Lebanese nationalist, was known to adamantly oppose the construction of a major U.S. air base in the north of Lebanon. The United States wants Syrian troops completely out of Lebanon before construction of the base is initiated. Hariri's meetings with Hezbollah shortly before his death also angered Washington and Jerusalem, according to the Lebanese intelligence sources.

Washington and Jerusalem media experts spun Hariri's assassination as being the work of Syrian intelligence on orders from President Bashar Assad. However, a number of Middle East political observers in Washington claim that Hariri's assassination was not in the interests of Assad, but that the Bush and Sharon administrations had everything to gain from it, including the popular Lebanese uprising against the Syrian occupation.

Lebanese intelligence sources report that even without a formal agreement with Lebanon, the contract for the northern Lebanese air base has been let by the Pentagon to Jacobs Engineering Group of Pasadena, California. Other construction support will be provided by Bechtel Corporation.

Jacobs Engineering and Jacobs Sverdrup are currently contracted for work in Saudi Arabia for Aramco, Iraq for the U.S. occupation authority, Bosnia, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Lebanese air base is reportedly to be used as a transit and logistics hub for U.S. forces in Iraq and as a rest and relaxation location for U.S. troops in the region. In addition, the Lebanese base will be used to protect U.S. oil pipelines in the region (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Mosul/Kirkuk-Ceyhan) as well as to destabilize the Assad government in Syria. The size of the planned air base reportedly is on the scale of the massive American Al Udeid air base in Qatar.

A number of intelligence sources have reported that assassinations of foreign leaders like Hariri and Hobeika are ultimately authorized by two key White House officials, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliot Abrams. In addition, Abrams is the key liaison between the White House and Sharon's office for such covert operations, including political assassinations.

"Abrams is the guy they [the Israelis] go to for a wink and a nod for such ops," reported one key source.

Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based journalist and columnist and the co-author of "America's Nightmare: The Presidency of George BushII."

Source: E'temad web site, Tehran, in Persian 15 Feb 05
Now your an "expert" on the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a subject you knew nothing about yesterday!

Is there any evidence?

It was the day before yesterday, and the poster was talking about a President killed by Syria. You still don't understand, do you?

Quite amazing the ignorance.

Hariri was not a president.

It makes perfect sense if Israel was planning on invading Lebanon.

Which is exactly what they did.

It seems you really don't know much about Lebanon. One question why do you defend Syria after what they have done to Lebanon? "It provoked massive demonstrations against Syria and the pro-Syrian government in Lebanon, and it intensified international pressure on Syria to leave its western neighbor.

The pressure forced the resignation of the government and led to Syria's withdrawing its troops from Lebanon in late April, ending a 29-year military presence in the country.

Hariri, who was prime minister for 10 of the past 12 years, presided over Lebanon's reconstruction after the 1975-90 civil war. He was also a billionaire businessman.

[link to www.taipeitimes.com]

You really are an IDIOT!

He was not PRESIDENT!

Go crawl back under you rock.

One more line of crap like that from you and you will be ignored.

Yes, but I am not certain this is going to benefit them the way they thought it might.

It benefited them exactly as planned. They needed to get Syria out before the invasion.

"One question why do you defend Syria after what they have done to Lebanon?"

I don't defend Syria for using too much influence, but without them Israel would have occupied more, and for longer.

Their presence kept Israel out.

I was defending them from False accusations.

Syria never killed a President.

Aad said: "We handed them an urgent appeal to transmit to [UN Secretary General] Kofi Annan. The process [to communicate directly with Annan] usually takes too much time, and in our case time is a killer. We need urgent action to save these people."

According to the head of Solide, the UN officials "promised to relay the message to Annan."

The families' appeal asks for the creation of an international commission with full power to investigate the hundreds of cases of detentions and kidnappings at the hand of Syrian intelligence agents.

The statement also calls for unearthing alleged mass graves near former Syrian intelligence headquarters in Lebanon, particularly in Yarze, which also includes the Lebanese Army headquarters.


In December 2000, former State Prosecutor Adnan Addoum said two kidnapped priests were buried in a mass grave in the Yarze area.

Jeanette Khawand, whose husband Butros has been missing since 1992, said: "The thing is we don't have confidence in anyone here and we are all convinced help will come from outside, which means the UN."

After years of denial by the Syrian and Lebanese governments, the story of Lebanese detainees finally appeared in mainstream media earlier this year when the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation broke the code of silence by screening two programs dedicated to the missing men and their families.

Aad said: "Personally, I never really felt that the taboo was broken," adding the subject is still extremely delicate. "The latest political reactions prove me right."

According to Aad, Mikati's promise to address the issue was nothing more than a politician attempting to once more sweep the issue under the rug.He said: "Now the families feel betrayed. Let's just hope that politicians will reconsider their position and put this file on there political agenda."

But some, such as Khawand, have given up hope Lebanese officials will act. She said: "Things will only move if there is pressure from outside. Here politicians are all busy with elections, addressing all citizens but us as if [we] and our missing [loved ones] are not citizens."

She added: "I was supposed to participate in one of the television shows, but then I got a phone call saying that I could take part in a [phone-in interview]; even those who mentioned him were very cautious.
"But we won't give up, we are holding on and strong. They are alive and we will get them back."


6-6-05

BEIRUT, Lebanon (UPI) -- The government of outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati Wednesday set up a committee to settle the issue of Lebanese prisoners in Syria.

Although Damascus denies it holds any Lebanese political prisoners, Lebanese civilian organizations insist that dozens of prisoners are detained in Syria.

The committee is to gather information about possible Lebanese prisoners in Syria and other Arab countries. It will also establish contacts with the judicial and security authorities in Syria to locate the prisoners and verify the charges filed against them or the sentences they face.

The committee will seek as well to secure the release of the prisoners and to have them handed over to the Lebanese authorities to try them according to Lebanese laws.

The committee was given three months, a term that could be renewed, to complete mission and submit a report to the minister of justice.

6-22-05

UN rights body urges probe on missing Lebanese in Syria

BEIRUT: The UN Human Rights Committee has asked Damascus to investigate the disappearances of Lebanese nationals in Syria and the practice of arbitrary detention, a Paris-based rights group said. Syria "should ... take immediate steps to establish an independent and credible commission of inquiry into all disappearances," said a UNHRC statement published by a group called Support for Arbitrarily Detained Lebanese (SOLIDE).

Syria "should give a particularized account of Lebanese nationals and Syrian nationals, as well as other persons, who were taken into custody or transferred into custody in Syria," said the committee during its annual meeting in Geneva, which ended July 29.

Lebanese groups estimate that 440 Lebanese have disappeared in Syria, including some women and people who were minors at the time of their disappearance.

8-7-05

If Syria is holding prisoners they should be released.

And so should the ones Israel is holding.

hello D of L
Have you noticed any Israeli propaganda threads on GLP about this topic which I might study for comparison with your
own propaganda? (please know I am using the word "propaganda" in the neutral sense of "promoting a version of things)."

Oh sure...Israel should just release Jew-killers and plotters so they can kill some more Jews. Good idea. No wonder you suggest that absurdity.

-------------------------------------------------------------​-------------------

The United Nations' probe of the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in Beirut has emboldened Lebanon's activists to demand the release of at least 1,500 Lebanese nationals allegedly imprisoned in Syria.

"This is a blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559," said Claude Hajjar, Beirut representative of the Guardians of the Cedars, the Lebanese political party that campaigned vigorously against the 30-year-long Syrian military presence in her native land. She came to Cyrpus from Beirut to confer with her party's leader, Etienne Sakr, popularly known as Abu Arz, who has been living there in exile.

Resolution 1559 also is the basis upon which a 60-member investigatory team led by Germany's Detlev Mehlis has been trying to find out who was responsible for the 2,000-pound bomb that killed Hariri on February 14. It was detonated as he drove in a motorcade past the Lebanese capital's posh St. George Hotel. The commission spent last Monday in Damascus and was expected to return for a longer stay early next week. Encouraged by the Mehlis commission's probe, the Lebanese authorities have arrested four generals on suspicion of complicity in the plot to kill Hariri. They also detained Nasser Kandil, a former member of Parliament. He was released three weeks ago, but his passport was taken from him and he was ordered not to leave Lebanon.

A Sunni Muslim, Hariri was 60 years old when he died. He was a billionaire in his own right mainly due to investments in Saudi Arabia and served as prime minister five times. The assassination occurred while he was running for reelection.
He had resigned in October 2004, having aligned himself with the Lebanese public's mounting resentment against Syrian hegemony, a feeling shared by Maronite Christians and Sunni Muslims. The Shi'ites of southern Lebanon were less hostile toward Syria and those who adhere to Hizbullah's ideology appreciated the Damascus regime's funding and arming of the extremist militia. Less than four months after giving up the premiership Hariri was dead.

"Several other anti-Syrian leaders have been staying away from Lebanon for the time being," Abu Arz said. Among them are Hariri's son, Saad, who led and won the election campaign in the aftermath of his father's death, and Samir Geagea, the former commander of the Lebanese Forces, who spent 12 years in prison, most of them in solitary confinement. His cell was in the basement of Beirut's defense ministry. Both are in Paris.

The Lebanese Forces were a predominantly Christian militia that was allied with Israel in the 1982 war against the Palestine Liberation Organization's cadres in Lebanon.

In addition, Sakr contended that the Lebanese Druse leader, Walid Jumblatt, and the Christians' most popular candidate for the presidency, Michel Aoun, have been staying at home and rarely venture outside. "The Syrians want them dead," Sakr said.

Hajjar contended that the Syrian intelligence agency, known as the Mukhabarat in Arabic, has a list of 40 to 45 Lebanese on its hit list. "Jubran Tweini (editor of the prestigious Beirut daily a-Nahar) has all the names and told Lebanese TV (LBC) that he may publish it," she said.

Abu Arz believes that Syrian President Bashar Assad personally warned Hariri that he would be in grave danger if he persisted in opposing the tenure of Lebanon's pro-Syrian President, Emile Lahoud.

A report carried by Channel 2 said Israeli and Jordanian intelligence forwarded data implicating Syria in the assassination.

9-18-05

No, no, no. It was yhe Jews. Always the Jews.

Unfortunately, Israel has become the thing they hate the most!

It happened quite a while ago so there may not be any old threads about it.

Pretty much Israel, and the US accused Syria without any proof.

US Kidnapped a Syrian who 'confessed' to a UN panel, then recanted after he was released.