Rafik al-Hariri - Former Lebanese PM - Assasinated

[Ramo]

Being a player is one thing, but assuming that Syria was responsible, condemning talk that Syria tried to assasinate a guy because he resigned over the extension of Lahoud's term as sedition, and then resigning over the extension of Lahoud's term strikes me as pretty damn idiotic. Decidedly unplayerlike.

That said, the assassination attempt is certainly suspicious, so I'd say that it's more likely Syria was involved in Hariri's assassination than not.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Ramo
Being a player is one thing, but assuming that Syria was responsible, condemning talk that Syria tried to assasinate a guy because he resigned over the extension of Lahoud's term as sedition, and then resigning over the extension of Lahoud's term strikes me as pretty damn idiotic. Decidedly unplayerlike.

well d'uh, obviously the man thought that HE was too big, too rich, and too well protected to be taken out, He had ALOT more security than the other guy did. Such arrogance is not uncommon, and is not always unjustified.

[lord of the mark]

Syrian Intel chief replaced.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4277595.stm


Hmm, maybe for going to far without Assads permission? Taking the fall for the hit, without having forecast the reaction?

[Spiffor]

Re: Syrian Intel chief replaced.

That may be the first of a series of appeasement measures from Assad. I wouldn't be surprised if diplomats are already busy defusing the situation behind the scene, with western diplomats using the public statements as a resource to intimidate Assad more.

[Ned]

The thing that puzzles me is why France wants Syria out of Lebanon? The Syrian troops protects Hezbollah, one of the Zionist Entity's most aggressive enemies. Undermining Hezbollah would seemingly defeat one of France's long term policy objectives.

[Spiffor]

We have no long term objective of destroying Israel. Our policies in the ME are opportunistic, and not driven by any long-term goal. The most important "visionary" goal French diplomacy has for the ME is to find a workable peace between Israel and Palestine, because it would solve many international and domestic problems, but that's about it.

[Last Conformist]

Since when is attacking Israel one of France's long-term policy objectives?

Cynical interpretation; France wants their toy back.

[Ned]

Ah, but on whose side was France in '67? The stated goal at that time was destruction of the Zionist entity. France has not changed sides since, and continues to align itself with those whose goal is indeed a form of peace, the form one gets when your enemy is no more.

Remember Carthage!

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Ned
France has not changed sides since, and continues to align itself with those whose goal is indeed a form of peace, the form one gets when your enemy is no more.

You mean, the form of fatal hostiltiy that involves close cooperation between secret services and the doubling of trade volume?

France doesn't align itself with ME countries. The only country to which we align ourselves is Germany these days (It is the only country whose interests we make a continuous effort at satisfying, because a solid cooperation is mutually beneficial). This Syria epüisode proves once again that our side in the ME is our own. We try to get as much as possible from the given opportunities.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Spiffor
We have no long term objective of destroying Israel. Our policies in the ME are opportunistic, and not driven by any long-term goal. The most important "visionary" goal French diplomacy has for the ME is to find a workable peace between Israel and Palestine, because it would solve many international and domestic problems, but that's about it.

Agreed, France (as a state) isnt interested in destroying Israel, but in "tying down Gulliver" and in cultivating arabs. While many of those arabs are anti-Israel, the Arabs France has been closest to historically have been the Maronites of Lebanon, who are not particularly anti-Israel, and at this point are strongly anti-Syrian. Additionally France seems to have reached out to other communities in Lebanon, which are also opposed to the Syrian presence. The advantages of cultivating the Lebanese far outweigh any advantage to France of undermining US policy by helping Syria, in this instance. Not all global politics is a two player zero sum game.

[pchang]

I now have this image in my head of a bunch of arabs buried in the ground up to their knees with a French guy digging up the ground with a hoe and sprinkling them with water.

[Eli]

The Lebanese opposition declared an "Independence Intifada" against Syria. A non violent, democratic popular resistance against Syrian control of Lebanon.

[pchang]

I predict it will not stay non-violent. In fact, I foresee a Tian an Men type massacre.

[Sirotnikov]

Lebanese opposition declares intifada
by
Friday 18 February 2005 5:37 PM GMT

(Aljazeera + Agencies)

The Lebanese opposition has declared an "uprising for independence" and called for the pro-Syrian government to step down.

"In response to the criminal and terrorist policy of the Lebanese and Syrian authorities, the Lebanese opposition declares the democratic and peaceful intifada [uprising] for independence," said leading opposition figure Samir Frangia.

"We demand the departure of the illegitimate regime," Frangia said, reading a final statement at the home of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt after an opposition meeting in a Beirut hotel on Friday.

Jumblatt did not attend the meeting, four days after the assassination of former premier Rafiq al-Hariri, for "security reasons," aides said.

Attendance

The meeting was attended by more than 40 of the parliament's 128 members, as well as dozens of political activists.

The opposition called for "the formation of an interim government as a supreme national necessity to protect the Lebanese people and ensure the immediate and complete pullout of Syrian forces from Lebanon ahead of free and honest legislative elections."

They also declared "the suspension of any political or legal debate in parliament before the truth is uncovered".

"We call on parliament ... to hold a plenary session to discuss the series of assassinations which started with the attempt on Marwan Hamada, with the martyrdom of Rafiq al-Hariri and the targeting of former minister (Basil) Fleyhan" in the same blast that killed al-Hariri.

Unsuccessful

Hamada, an MP and deputy to Jumblatt, was unsuccessfully targeted in October. Jumblatt himself received a veiled death threat earlier this month from the Lebanese branch of Syria's ruling Baath party.

Lebanon's anti-Syria opposition has accused the government and Damascus of having a hand in the massive bomb blast that killed former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri and 16 other people in Beirut on Monday.

The assassination sent shockwaves through the nation.

Aljazeera's correspondent in Beirut said the meeting of the opposition groups was the fourth of its kind. Sources close to the talks said the meetings are an attempt to hammer out a plan to escalate the toppling of the Lebanese government.

Both the Lebanese and Syrian governments deny any involvement in the 14 February assassination.

Lebanese Opposition Demands 'Independence Uprising'
Fri Feb 18, 2005 01:44 PM ET

By Alistair Lyon

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Opposition figures urged the Lebanese to join an "independence uprising" against Syria's grip on their country Friday, escalating a war of words following former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri's assassination.

Hariri's killing in Beirut Monday sparked anti-Syrian fury among many Lebanese and renewed world pressure on Damascus to loosen its political grip and remove its troops from Lebanon.

Tourism Minister Farid al-Khazen resigned in a further sign of political turbulence and Syria named a new military intelligence chief.

Khazen, a Maronite Christian, became the first minister to quit because of the assassination and said he had done so because the Syrian-backed government was unable to "remedy the dangerous situation in the country.

"There is no substitute for national dialogue on the basis of the Taif agreement," he said, referring to the deal that ended the 1975-1990 civil war and committed Syria to moving the troops it keeps in Lebanon to the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and figures from the disparate opposition movement blamed the government and its Syrian backers for Hariri's death and called for its resignation.

After meeting Friday, they urged Lebanese to back a peaceful "independence uprising" -- the first time they had used the term.

Parliament must also suspend all debate unrelated to the assassination, they told a news conference, until the truth about who killed Hariri emerged.

"This isn't just the opposition," Jumblatt earlier told reporters. "All the Lebanese are with Hariri, a free Lebanon and Syrian withdrawal." Hariri moved toward a similar position in the months before his death.

It was not immediately clear what form of protest the uprising would take.

Protesters set fire to the tents of Syrian farm workers near the northern town of Tripoli, the latest attack on Syrians in Lebanon. No injuries were reported.

[...]

Bush said Thursday Syria should comply with a U.N. resolution demanding its troops leave Lebanon and should allow parliamentary elections scheduled for May to be free and fair.

He recalled the U.S. ambassador to Syria this week in reaction to the bombing, but has said Washington does not know who was behind the killing. Syria has denied involvement.

[Odin]

FREE LEBANON