Hezbollah in the Crosshairs: Nasrallah Prepares for a New Showdown, Syria Dating the West……..
“The head of Hezbollah has said that some of its members will be among those charged with the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant Shia movement, said some of the group would be indicted by the UN-backed court within the coming months. He has dismissed the move as part of a US and Israeli conspiracy. Mr Hariri and 22 other people were killed in Beirut in a car bomb in 2005. Mr Nasrallah said he had been told by current Prime Minister Saad Hariri - the son of Rafik Hariri - that those indicted would be regarded as "rogue elements" rather than representative of the group. Speaking by video link for security reasons, he said it was part of a plan by the US and Israel to impose their will on the region……. He said that there were no Syrians among those expected to be indicted, despite numerous early accusations that Syria was behind the assassination. He said this just went to show that the tribunal was highly political in nature………..” BBC
This is intriguing, because Nasrallah seems publicly rattled, angry, a rarity. He may have a good reason to be. Until the recent the past the consensus in Western media and in Saudi-dominated Gulf and Lebanese media was that Syria would be in trouble if the Hariri investigation proceeded. That was in the past, especially about two years ago when relations between the Assad regime and the other absolute Arab oligarchs were at their worst. The focus was on Syria and her ubiquitous intelligence agents in Lebanon ante-2005. There were hints, nay open threats, that senior Syrian officials may have to stand trial, and there were media snickers about Assad and how “they” can try and protect him. One silly Gulf daily rag even reported once that the US, under Bush-Cheney, was getting ready to invade Syria and topple the regime. You’d think they had assassinated Jesus Christ in Beirut. But all that was before they kissed and made up.
In that respect Nasrallah is right: as he noted dryly, no Syrian agents will be indicted. The sudden shift away from blaming Syria comes at a convenient time for several regional and international parties. And for a few Lebanese hereditary warlords who have chafed under the 'special' standing accorded Hezbollah. The Syrians and Saudis have sort of kissed, not the real heavy stuff, not exactly Frenching. They have sort of made up, for now, the media dogs have been leashed for now. Syrian relations with the West also got a little bit warmer, to the extent that they all supported the same candidate in Iraq this year.
The Syrians are not completely off the hook: they still support Hezbollah (an Israeli red line and American veto getter there). Perhaps more seriously, they still claim to want back the Golan Heights, ‘all’ of the Golan, occupied by Israel since 1967. Unfortunately new facts have been created on the ground in the Golan: settlements and vineyards and such, and most of it has been illegally annexed by Israel. So, Syria may not be off the hook yet.
Cheers
mhg
Mon Email
Comments