Syrian minister hints at Israel, US, involvement in Harari killing

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=d4a75504706c7fdd

The Syrian minister of Expatriates has hit back at claims his country was behind the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

When the blast hit, locals looked up into the sky for Israeli warplanes, Bouthaina Shaaban was quoted as saying by UPI.

Shaaben said Israeli planes violate Lebanese airspace almost daily.

snip...

Shaaban also pointed to an announcement made by the European Peace Movement, which was holding a meeting in Berlin Feb. 15, attended by European generals and experts, that the Movement found that the explosives used in the bombing that claimed the life of Hariri were 'in direct connection with the disappearance of 4,000 tons of strong explosives that disappeared from Iraq after the American occupation.' The movement had reminded the media at the time, he said, that the U.S. was silent about the suspicious disappearance and about confirmed information regarding the handing over of the location to an Israeli force that accompanied the occupying American forces and that the explosives were transferred to Israel.
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Looks Like Syria is fighting back!!!
I like how the minister points out that Syria and Lebanon are necessary to provide a steady stream of supplies to Iraq!!!

[Blue to the bone]

1. Go Syria!!!! Defeat the Chimp!!! n/t

[liberalmuse]

2. No shit?

Anyway, that's the first thing that popped into my head when I heard about the assasination. The things the Bush administration is doing right out in the open are bad enough, so it really isn't surprising to assume what they're doing in secret is MUCH more heinous.

[murray hill farm]

3. My first thought, as well.

If we think it....most of the rest of the world really thinks it..the usa has a history.

[chlamor]

4. Who benefits?

Very interesting article in the recent Jordan Times. The analysis seems thorough. Here are a few excerpts and link below:

"Cool-headed analysts argued that Syria would not risk its role as guarantor of Lebanon's stability by killing the country's sole high profile politician who had, until last October, been an ally of Damascus. Syria could hardly claim to be an effective guardian when such a shocking attack takes place."

Rim Allaf, an analyst at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, observed: “Whoever did it aimed at creating chaos in Lebanon and pointing the finger at Syria. I can't believe anyone in Syria could think that would help them.”

Whoever planted the bomb was certain that Damascus would be blamed. Therefore, one must ask who benefits from Hariri's assassination. Israel, of course, was the instant choice of west Beirut Arab nationalists. They argue that Israel seeks to prove that Syria's presence is no longer a factor for stability in Lebanon in order to force Damascus to disengage. They also say that the bombing has warned Lebanon that it must rein in Hizbollah, which Israel accuses of training and arming Palestinian Islamic militants in the West Bank and Gaza. This strike in the heart of the Lebanese capital could also compel Syria to end its support for Hizbollah and the Palestinian resistance.

Who, then, is the main beneficiary of Hariri's assassination? The Bush administration. Washington has meddled in Lebanese affairs for more than half a century. It has even used a car bomb on at least one occasion: in the mid-1980s, the US Central Intelligence Agency tried and failed to kill Sheikh Hussein Fadlallah, Hizbollah's spiritual mentor, with a massive device.

www.jordantimes.com/thu/opinion/opinion2.htm

[lovuian]

5. U.S. wants Syria in Hariri probe

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=290672a59937ffdb

Big News Network.com Sunday 20th February, 2005 (UPI)

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Friday said Syria must cooperate in an investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese leader Rafik Hariri.

"We're not trying to isolate Syria," she said in a joint news conference with Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot. "What we're trying to do is to get Syria to engage in more responsible behavior, and that responsible behavior includes agreeing to participate in an investigation of what happened to Prime Minister Hariri."


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Wasn't there a duke who was assasinated and it started a World War!!! History may repeat itself here!!!

[xchrom]

6. those were my thoughts.