Wed 12 Oct 2005
So now the former head of security in Syria has killed himself after all. It is assumed this is because he knew that he would be implicated in the UN report on Hariri’s assasination, which should be released next week.
A lot hinges on this report. Certainly, it will place blame on the Lebanese security officers who were arrested in August. Definitely, it will “reveal” that Syria was somehow involved. It is only a question of how high the accusations will go. There is speculation that President Assad will not be accused, whether Mehlis and his team think he is guilty or not. Some think that a deal will be cut with the US– Assad’s regime will cooperate with the US on Iraq, in exchange for looking the other way regarding Syria’s probable guilt in the murder of Rafiq Hariri. It is unclear how much Assad can get away with regarding consorting with the US, though, if he decides to do so. There are some who say that both Assad (President of Syria) and Lahoud (President of Lebanon) are on their way out.
Suffice it to say, this city should be crawling with foreign journalists this time next week.
October 12th, 2005 at 6:52 pm
The reporter of the NYTimes article on this, “Syria Says Minister in Lebanon Inquiry Committed Suicide,” seems skeptical of this being an actual suicide.
October 12th, 2005 at 8:07 pm
Yeah, it is actually pretty likely that he was murdered because of what he might say….
October 14th, 2005 at 3:53 am
Maybe I’m a little naive..why would he go on a Lebanese radio show with essentially a suicide note?
But ….there was a silencer on the gun…
October 14th, 2005 at 3:28 pm
Hi Karen!
There are a ton of theories going around .. many say that he would not have been involved with the plot to assasinate Hariri, because they were friends for 30 years.
and there was a silencer. and Kanaan was a possible replacement for Assad.
and if Syria was really investigating his death, why is his body already in the ground?
But you are right– if he meant on the radio show that it would be his last statement because he knew he would be killed, why did he say it in such an ambiguous way?