19 February 2005: Hariri assassination - qui bono?

Was Syria really to blame?, by Eric Margolis
http://mparent7777.blog-city.com/read/1086150.htm

[ A Syrian role in the crime defies logic, though not possibility. Syrian President Bashar-el-Assad's regime is desperately seeking to avoid providing U.S. President George W. Bush with a pretext for war and has urgently sought improved relations with Washington.

Hariri dealt comfortably with Syria for years. Though opposed to the continued presence of 15,000 Syrian "peacekeeping" troops in Lebanon, Hariri was not a major threat to Damascus. In fact, this consummate but pragmatic Levantine politician played all sides and had enjoyed close political and business links to Syria.

Suspicion points at Lebanon's far-rightist, anti-Syrian Maronites, Israel's Mossad or violent Islamists. All have an interest in destabilizing Lebanon and hurting Syria.

Other suspects include rogue elements from one of Syria's many competing security agencies, or business rivals of billionaire Hariri, who was a brilliant but ruthless entrepreneur.

The professional expertise of the bombing strongly suggests a state intelligence agency. Hariri's murder is only the latest in at least a dozen unsolved political assassinations in Lebanon over the past two decades. ]

Al Jazeera - Who benefits from al-Hariri's death?
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7EFAB726-9014-495D-8939-187E68035462.htm

[ Al-Hariri'sÝassassination is part of aÝwider plot, says Bushra al-Khalil Bushra al-Khalil, a Lebanese lawyer and political activist, told Aljazeera.net the plot against al-Hariri's life also targeted Syria.

"If we look at the way the assassination has been conducted, it is very sophisticated, I knew al-Hariri's security measures -Ýno local systemÝcould haveÝbreached them.

"The question is,Ýwho stands to benefit from his death? Syria's enemies. I think al-Hariri's death is part of the planÝto divide the region into tiny helpless sectarian states. This plan has started in Iraq and it will continue to hit all other Arab countries." ]

The assassination of Rafiq Hariri: who benefited? By Bill Van Auken 17 February 2005 http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/feb2005/hari-f17.shtml

[ The powers that most clearly stood to advance their strategic aims by having Hariri assassinated and blaming the crime on Syria are the US and Israel. Among those who play the game of speculating who organized the car bombing in Beirut, the smart money is undoubtedly on Washington and Tel Aviv.

Under pressure from Washington, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1559 last September, demanding that Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon. This political fact sheds light on the decision of the White House, before the blood on Beirutís streets had dried on Monday, to issue a statement blaming Damascus. This entirely unsupported charge was followed by instructions to Washingtonís ambassador to slap the Syrian regime with a demarche and leave the country. [...]

The maneuvers against Syria manifest as well the unprecedented coordination of US and Israeli policy in the region. Damascus is a primary target because it has provided sanctuary to Palestinian groups that have opposed Israel, including the Islamist organization Hamas. It has also failed to curb the growing influence of the Lebanese Shiite movement, Hezbollah, which forced Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon after 20 years of occupation. It is hoped in both Washington and Tel Aviv that either forcing Syrian troops out of Lebanon or carrying out 'regime change' in Damascus will undermine Hezbollahís position and open the door for renewed Israeli control on both sides of its northern border. ]

Others argue that the big picture is even more involved than this, namely provoking regime change in Syria in order to create a corridor of control between Israel and the pro-Israel Kurdish region in northern Iraq, which also contains Iraq's massive northern oil fields.

Rafiq Hariri and cui bono?
http://xymphora.blogspot.com/2005/02/rafiq-hariri-and-cui-bono.html

Two theories on Hariri's assassination
http://xymphora.blogspot.com/2005/02/two-theories-on-hariri.html

Israel Involved In The Assassination Of Rafik Harriri? by Dr. Sam Hamod http://www.rense.com/general63/dmb.htm

Somewhat related, and bearing on some speculations about the Iraqi election I covered in my January 29 entry:

Who gains from the Iraqi elections?
http://xymphora.blogspot.com/2005/02/who-won-iraqi-elections-neocons_15.html

My other related blog entries are January 31: Turkey slams US on Kurds and February 4: The Iraq situation and Russia.

In addition to the sources in the xymphora blog, there has been more and more refutation of varied attempts to claim that the US invasion of Iraq was not compatible with Israel's interests, or that it was not reflective of coordinated US-Israeli policy:

Iraq was invaded 'to protect Israel' - Zelikow By: Emad Mekay: Asian Times
http://iraqwar.mirror-world.ru/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=39766

I previously speculated that the 9/11 Truth Movement is being penetrated by a limited-hangout diversion op involving "whistleblower" Sibel Edmonds, paired up with the eminently suspicious Daniel Ellsberg, which is putting pressure on Turkey at a very opportune time to stifle Turkish opposition to US-Israeli strategies in Iraq. Continuing this pattern is a new article by John Stanton, who has been promoting Edmonds:

The American Turkish Council: US Association Helps Create New World Order by John Stanton http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Feb05/Stanton0214.htm

This relates to a second concern I have, which is what looks like a "Nazi-Islamofascist" semi-diversion op which is also being pushed heavily on the 9/11 Truth Movement, typified by the recent Ptech series from Ruppert's FTW. I will have more to say on this soon.

Another important piece of the puzzle is illustrated by the following article which shows that there is some extent of a cooperative policy continuum between the US and Israel in the larger geopolitical war against Russia (and by implication, the new BRICS alliance as a whole).

Do Americans Even Care? Russia, Israel and Media Omissions By Alison Weir
http://www.counterpunch.org/weir02172005.html