A recent bombing in Beirut, Lebanon left high ranking
security chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan dead. Al-Hassan is described
as “anti-Syrian.”
Before Al-Hassan’s death was announced, and literally as
bodies were still being pulled from the wreckage caused by the bombing,
politicians from Saad Hariri’s faction began
immediately blaming Syria for
the attacks.
Read on..
Observations:
"Help another in righteousness and piety, but do
not help one another in sin and rancor. Fear Allah for Allah is strict in
punishment" - (Al-Maidah: 2)
Political
assassinations in Lebanon became rampant especially after the murder of Rafiq
Hariri in February 2005.
Since
then the polarization in Lebanon has deepened between the pro-Western forces
led by Hariri’s son Saad, his Sunni-led coalition, and the pro-Syrian block of
the Shiite parties led by Hisbullah. Soon after Rafiq Hariri’ death, massive
demonstrations by the pro-Western parties and the intervention of foreign
powers were able to dislodge Syria from Lebanon after a twenty-nine year
military presence.
The West
took advantage of the incident by applying pressure on the Syrian regime, which
culminated in a U.N. Security Council resolution on April 7, 2005 appointing an
international tribunal to investigate Hariri’s assassination.
The UN
tribunal investigation was highly politicised when it issued several reports
accusing the Syrian regime, based on non-credible witnesses. Four years later
the tribunal admitted that much of “the evidence” used against Syria was
fabricated by false witnesses, some of them even tied to Israeli intelligence
(Abdelbasit Bani Odeh) or the CIA and other Western intelligence agencies (Ahmad
Mari‘e and Zuhair Siddiq).
By the
end of 2009, the whole case against Syria collapsed and the four senior
security officers held for over four years were consequently released. In the
mean time, the false witnesses were relocated outside Lebanon and given
protection and new identities in different European countries.
Israel
has a long and bloody history of successful assassinations in Lebanon since the
1970’s, including the killing of the former leader of Hisbullah in 1992, and
the assassination of dozens of Palestinian leaders in the occupied territories,
Europe and other Arab states including many leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad,
and the PLO.
Many of
these assassinations were carried out secretly but some were exposed when
agents were caught red handed as in the 1997 attempt to kill Hamas’ leader
Khaled Meshal in Amman, or after leaving behind many clues as in the
assassination of another Hamas leader in Dubai in January 2010. Often times
Israel would conduct such assassinations in public and in cold blood without
any fear of international condemnation or scrutiny, especially when carried out
in the occupied territories.
Israel
was forced to retreat from Lebanon in May 2000. It however continues to
actively pursue its “forward defence” overt and covert mission in Lebanon. The
main objective was achieved shortly after the Hariri assassination with
the withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon. The aim to disarm Hisbullah has been
difficult to accomplish despite employing a vicious military attack in 2006 as
well as mobilizing all levers of local, regional and international political
powers.
The
enemies of Lebanon would wish to frame the assassination of Hariri and other
political assassinations on Hisbullah and/or Syria so as to trigger a bloody
sectarian war forcing Sunni-Shi’a divide. At the very least these enemies hope
that under indictment Hisbullah and its friends would be on the defensive, thus
forcing the disarmament of its militia and thus curbing their influence.
Much to
the dismay the majority of its friendly people, Lebanon continues to be
subjugated by domestic and regional “players” keen to rewrite the geo-political
map of the region.
Do
not despair, their wish to rewrite history will be in vain. Allah’s
justice shall prevail:
"O you who believe! Stand up for justice, as witnesses
to Allah, even if it goes against yourselves or your parents and relatives.
Whether they are rich or poor, Allah is nearer to both (than you are). Do not
follow your own desires and deviate from the truth. If you twist or turn away,
Allah is aware of what you do." -
(Al Qur’an 4:134)
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