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KevinTheOmnivore KevinTheOmnivore is offline
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Old Feb 15th, 2005, 11:56 PM        Assassination of Rafik al-Hariri
Anybody else following this? Anyone hear about possible links to Syrian militants, and/or the Syrian government?

I haven't had as much time to look in to this as I'd like. How bad is this? Will we maybe get Syria the fuck out of Lebanon?
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mburbank mburbank is offline
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Old Feb 16th, 2005, 10:16 AM       
My knowledge of Lebanon is embarassingly poor.

Here's what I don't understand about what's going down right now:

We have withdrawn our ambassador from Syria as a mesage of our 'extreme outrage' over the assasination, but we are also saying we have no evidnce at all at this ime that Syria carried out the assasination. So... who are we expressing our outrage at by withdrawing the ambassador? Is there some level of cognitave dissonance here? I mean, sure, they're the leding suspects, but the Arabs didn't bomb the Murrow building and the Basques didn't blow up the train in Madrid.
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Cosmo Electrolux Cosmo Electrolux is offline
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Old Feb 16th, 2005, 10:28 AM       
Well, it seems that Iran has thrown her support behind Syria...right before a missle from an "unknown" plane exploded near a nuclear power plant.....imagine.
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Old Feb 16th, 2005, 05:04 PM       
Lebanon is to ask foreign experts to investigate the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The former leader, credited with reviving Lebanon's economy after 15 years of civil war, died in a huge car bomb attack on Monday.

A previously unknown Islamist militant group has said it was behind the blast, but fingers have also been pointed at Syria, which denies any involvement.

Hariri was buried amid chaotic scenes in Beirut on Wednesday.

Thousands of people converged on the city's Muhammad Amin Mosque for the funeral service and visiting international dignitaries offered their condolences to Hariri's family.

Many mourners accused Syria of having a hand in the killing, calling for it to withdraw the contingent of troops it maintains in Lebanon.

The US ambassador to Damascus has been recalled to Washington for consultations and is expected to remain there for an "indefinite period", according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Islamist claim

Facing growing calls for an international inquiry into Mr Hariri's killing, Lebanon said it would allow foreign experts to offer their assistance.

Beirut's military judiciary said Swiss experts on DNA testing and explosives will be brought in to conduct tests on the blast that killed Hariri and 14 others as it destroyed cars and buildings in downtown Beirut.

Lebanon had earlier said there was no need for an international investigation into the killing - a demand voiced by the French and US governments.

Before travelling to Beirut for Hariri's funeral, US state department official William Burns said international expertise must be brought in to ensure the investigation is "serious and credible" and those responsible are brought to justice.

While an unknown Islamist militant group has claimed it was behind the massive car bomb that ripped through Hariri's motorcade, this has yet to be verified.

Hariri resigned during his second term as prime minister of Lebanon late last year after apparent disagreement with the country's staunchly pro-Syrian President, Emile Lahoud.

A huge security operation was staged for Hariri's funeral, with heavily armed police and troops fanned out along the funeral route.

The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Beirut says Christians, Muslims and Druze alike are grieving for the death of the Sunni Muslim billionaire, who symbolised the revival of Lebanon after years of bloody civil war.


RAFIK HARIRI
Prime minister 1992-98 and 2000-04
Self-made billionaire
Trained as a teacher, then founded successful construction firm in Saudi Arabia
Born in 1944 to a poor Sunni Muslim family in the southern Lebanese port of Sidon
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KevinTheOmnivore KevinTheOmnivore is offline
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Old Feb 16th, 2005, 10:04 PM       
I hope this serves as the last straw for the Lebanese. I personally believe that if the Syrian government didn't in fact green light this, then they certainly may have had some level of involvement.

I don't know too much about Syria's relationship with Iran, but I do know that they are an occupying force in Lebanon, one that has influenced policy and elections in Lebanon.

They've done very little to control the flow of "insurgents" into Iraq through their border.

And according to the folks over at preechr's board, they have all of Saddam's WMDs.

But seriously, this is bad. Explosions in Iran, spy planes over nuke plants (as if that's a surprise), ambassadors getting pulled, Iran making out with Syria, etc.

Um...yup.
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Old Feb 28th, 2005, 10:18 PM       
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/28/in...rtner=homepage

February 28, 2005

Lebanese Government Dissolved Amid Opposition Protests
By HASSAN M. FATTAH

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 28 - In an apparent victory for Lebanon's opposition movement, Prime Minister Omar Karami resigned from office today, dissolving the country's pro-Syrian government and setting the stage for what could be a dramatic change in the relationship between Syria and Lebanon.

Mr. Karami's announcement came as more than 25,000 flag-waving protesters massed outside Parliament, chanting "Syria out!" two weeks after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. When news of Mr. Karami's resignation reached the crowds, a cheer erupted throughout the square where they had gathered.

Mr. Karami made his terse announcement moments after Parliament reconvened this evening to continue debate on a no-confidence measure against the current Syrian-backed government.

"Out of concern that the government does not become an obstacle to the good of the country, I announce the resignation of the government I had the honor to lead," Mr. Karami said in a brief statement. "May God preserve Lebanon."

Lebanese TV reported that President Emile Lahoud had accepted Mr. Karami's resignation early tonight.

"I think the pressure built up and he said that's enough," said Michael Young, a Beirut-based analyst and editor. "All the anger was being directed against him personally and he said it's enough."

Mr. Karami, scion of the Lebanese independence hero Abduhamid Karami and brother of a multi-term prime minister, Rashid Karami, who was assassinated in 1987, was defiant as he faced Parliament this morning.

"I call on everyone to be patient and avoid taking their strength from abroad, allowing Lebanese demands to be manipulated by the ongoing conflict in the Arab world," Mr. Karami warned, in an apparent allusion to growing pressure by the United States and France to get Syria to pull out of Lebanon. Mr. Karami endured heated debate as opposition members of Parliament lobbed increasingly personal attacks, accusing him of corruption and of serving Syrian interests.

Colleagues said today that Mr. Karami decided to resign after Mr. Hariri's sister, in opening comments, asked for his resignation, emphasizing the lack of confidence from the Hariri family. Mr. Karami also feared destabilizing Lebanon's economy by staying on.

Few opposition parliamentarians expected to win the no-confidence measure, but Mr. Karami appeared to bow to popular unrest.

"The government would have won the confidence vote, they weren't afraid of that," said Jihad al Khazen, a professor of political science at the American University in Beirut. "But they lost confidence on the street and that was awkward. They lost legitimacy, they lost credibility."

With the dissolution of Mr. Karami's cabinet, a caretaker government will be assigned to lead Lebanon until parliamentary elections, already planned for May, are held. Mr. Karami's government had been under heavy pressure to resign in the wake of Mr. Hariri's assassination Feb. 14, as outraged Lebanese lashed out at what they saw as the government's negligence and at its ties to Syria.

Mr. Karami himself became prime minister after Mr. Hariri resigned last October in protest over the lifting of term limits on the presidency that allowed the pro-Syrian President Lahoud to remain in office for three more years.

Mr. Karami's resignation follows protests over the past two weeks demanding a full investigation of Mr. Hariri's assassination, the resignation of the government, and an immediate pullout of Syria from Lebanon. The marches culminated in a massive demonstration at Beirut's Martyrs Square today in open defiance of an Interior Ministry order against the gathering, and a parliamentary session led by the opposition began deliberations on a confidence vote.

Lebanese soldiers circled much of the city center with barbed wire and barricades Sunday evening to block today's demonstration. Protesters rushed to get to the site of the demonstration, just yards away from Mr. Hariri's grave, and camped through the night.

Despite orders to prevent demonstrators from entering the area, Lebanese soldiers relented to a flood of largely young protestors today, and the demonstration went on peacefully.

"We came to say that things are not acceptable anymore," said Tony Khouri, who had come from Amman, Jordan, with his wife Caroline on family business, and stayed on for the demonstration. "The goal is for everyone to stop interfering in our country and let us take care of ourselves," Mr. Khouri said, alluding to Syria's grip on Lebanon.

Such talk was virtually unheard of only a year ago. But the resignation of Mr. Karami under pressure from people on the street underscored Syria's weakening grip on the country and the tremendous pressure on the Baathist state to withdraw from Lebanon. For over 30 years, Syria has dominated Lebanon's political and economic life through its military and proxy over the government, sanctioning Hezbollah and using the country as a gateway into the global economy. Mr. Hariri's assassination on Feb. 14 turned the opposition movement, which initially began in 2001, into a populist movement on the streets.

"It was unprecedented for the Syrians," said Dr. Khazen."It is the first time in Lebanon we see such national unity on such a crucial issue."

International pressure for Syria to get out of Lebanon has grown stronger. The United States recalled its ambassador to Syria last week, and has demanded that Syria leave completely. United Nations investigators landed in Beirut on Friday, seeking to get to the bottom of the assassination.

Arab leaders like President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt have also sent Bashar al-Assad messages to withdraw, warning of dire consequences otherwise.

Syrian officials tonight described the resignation as a "Lebanese issue."

"We hope that a Lebanese government will emerge to lead Lebanon to what is best for Lebanon and for the rest of the region in this very delicate time," said an official with the Foreign Ministry.

State Department officials, who have the called the fall of the government the "Cedar Revolution," praised the opposition's efforts

"What's happening in Lebanon is a reflection of the desires of the people of Lebanon. And what President Bush has said, I think, is being borne out here, is that it is the natural state of human beings to be free and to want to be free," said the State Department's deputy spokesman Adam Ereli.

Some, however, warn that the resignation may only feed growing instability that has hurt Lebanon's economy and may create further divisions in the country, which has struggled to rebuild after the 15 year civil war that ended in 1990.

"In my opinion, he wants to throw the responsibility on someone else and that somebody else will not be able to solve Lebanon's problem," said Adnan Arakji, a close confidante of Mr. Hariri's who recently dropped out of the opposition movement. "I worry that these people don't know what they're doing. They now have to sit on the table and negotiate with each other or elsethe country will go to ruin."

Beirut's streets buzzed this evening with exuberant protesters who only 24 hours earlier had been barred by the Lebanese army from entering Martyrs Square.

"This is the time for the people to stand together or else we will lose this country," said Ala Andari, who camped out at the square this evening. "We've had enough of the Syrians and their control, just give us our freedom."
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