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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Haaretz: Assad, Hizbullah Killed Hariri |
| 2010-11-27 |
| [An Nahar] The 2005 liquidation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was a "joint venture between Syria and Hizbullah," the Israeli daily Haaretz said Friday, citing Western intelligence sources. They said Syria played a major role in Hariri's murder and believed that the U.N. probe into the killing is "wrongly absolving it of guilt." The Special Tribunal for Leb is reportedly set to implicate Hizbullah members in the liquidation. But the Western sources said the murder "had in fact been a joint venture between Syria and Hizbullah that served both their interests." "There's no doubt Syria's hereditary President Bashar PencilneckAssad ... who used to be referred to in the Egyptian press as the boy president... was involved in the liquidation," Haaretz quoted one source as saying. "Hariri had launched a process aimed at kicking the Syrians out of Leb, he was running for reelection as prime minister and was thought to have a good chance of winning. Above all, he recruited American, French and Saudi support for the moderate axis in Leb. Assad had every reason to get rid of him," the source explained. Haaretz went on to say that Abdel Halim Khaddam, who had served as Assad's deputy, related that Assad had openly made a threat against Hariri during their last meeting before the murder, saying, "If anyone tries to throw us out of Leb, we'll smash Leb over his head." It said that in October 2005, Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan was found dead in his office. Kanaan had presided over Syrian intelligence in Leb for two decades and was considered Syria's strong man in Beirut, Haaretz went on to say. It said Damascus claimed he had did away with himself, but Western intelligence agencies believe he was killed by the Syrian regime because he knew too much about Hariri's murder. It is hard to believe, Western sources said, that anyone could have did away with himself by shooting himself three times in the back. |
| Posted by:Fred |