Hariri's killers 'recruited from Syrian-linked group in Iraq'

Assassins who killed Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, travelled from Iraq through Syria to carry out the attack, according to the Beirut judge leading the inquiry into the bombing.

Rachid Mezher, the senior investigator for the Lebanese military tribunal, said that the organisers had been recruited from Islamist groups linked to Syria and operating against the US-led coalition in Iraq.

Although no firm ties with the Syrian regime have been established, his comments suggest strong circumstantial evidence of a connection.

Investigators believe that a suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives into the 60-year-old billionaire's convoy last Monday, killing him and 14 others. Judge Mezher said that a video in which a fanatic called Ahmed Abu Adas said the attack was the work of "Victory and Jihad in Greater Syria", an unknown group, was a genuine claim of responsibility.

Abu Adas, 23, a Palestinian Lebanese believed to have fled the country, attended two Beirut mosques known to be recruiting grounds for the Ansar al-Islam group, linked to the Jordanian extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Investigators suspect that the mosques have ties to Sheikh Abderrazak, a Damascus cleric who has helped fighters travel through Syria to Iraq. The Beirut attack bore similarities to suicide bombings carried out in Iraq by al-Zarqawi, who has increasingly strong ties to al-Qaeda.

"We know that Adas had Saudi Arabian nationality and used his passport to travel to Iraq and Syria," said Judge Mezher in his only interview with a British newspaper.

"The man converted to strict Muslim beliefs two years ago and returned to Lebanon only recently."

The regime of the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, denies involvement in the attack and has rebuffed calls from Lebanon and America to remove its 15,000 troops from the country. It has a history, however, of using extremists in Lebanon as proxy killers.

However, a Syrian intelligence official based in Lebanon said: "There was a gap in security exploited by the terrorists and their web must be investigated. This criminal act was an attack on Syria as much as it was on Lebanon."

Mr Hariri, prime minister for 10 years, resigned last year after Syrian pressure led to the extension of the term as Lebanese president of Emile Lahoud, his chief rival. Previously pro-Syrian, Mr Hariri had planned to campaign during May's general election against Syrian influence.

Walid Jumblatt, now the leading Lebanese opposition leader, has accused Damascus of commissioning the attack on Mr Hariri. He is now at the vanguard of a popular movement to force the Syrian troops out of Lebanon.

"He got killed and we are all on that list, there is no immunity," he said. "Syria is responsible. Who else? We don't want to open war with Syria, but they must go out."

The Syrian president is a member of the Alawite religious sect, feared throughout medieval Europe as the Assassins. When its leader wanted an opponent killed, he handed a follower a dagger and his wishes were carried out. Many Lebanese believe that Mr Hariri's death was commissioned in similar fashion by Syria's Mukhabarat intelligence service.

At the Zoqaq al-Blat mosque, a stronghold of the pro-Syrian Akbash sect, the imam blamed foreign powers - meaning America and Israel - for Mr Hariri's death. "This intervention is designed to disfigure Lebanon and is the work of foreign forces who mean us harm," he said.

American support for Lebanese opposition demands is growing. One administration figure said of the assassination: "If Syria did authorise this, it's the stupidest thing they could have done."

Captian's Quarters
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/003878.php

Hariri Assassin Traveled Through Syria For Murder: Lebanon
The self-proclaimed suicide bomber of Lebanese statesman Rafik Hariri traveled through Syria from Iraq to get to Lebanon, an investigative judge announced today, providing further circumstantial evidence tying the Assad regime to the political assassination. The London Telegraph also reports that the assassin had open al-Qaeda ties, pointing to an even bigger problem for Damascus:

Rachid Mezher, the senior investigator for the Lebanese military tribunal, said that the organisers had been recruited from Islamist groups linked to Syria and operating against the US-led coalition in Iraq. ...
Investigators believe that a suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives into the 60-year-old billionaire's convoy last Monday, killing him and 14 others. Judge Mezher said that a video in which a fanatic called Ahmed Abu Adas said the attack was the work of "Victory and Jihad in Greater Syria", an unknown group, was a genuine claim of responsibility.

Abu Adas, 23, a Palestinian Lebanese believed to have fled the country, attended two Beirut mosques known to be recruiting grounds for the Ansar al-Islam group, linked to the Jordanian extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Investigators suspect that the mosques have ties to Sheikh Abderrazak, a Damascus cleric who has helped fighters travel through Syria to Iraq. The Beirut attack bore similarities to suicide bombings carried out in Iraq by al-Zarqawi, who has increasingly strong ties to al-Qaeda.

Bashar Assad has a big problem on his hands if this gets corroborated. The Bush Doctrine against terror proclaims any state that engages in or supports terrorism against American or Western targets, and specifically al-Qaeda's organization, makes itself a fair target for our war efforts. Syria has already been singled out by Bush himself during the SOTU speech, an unusual step intended to warn Assad against this very kind of action. The Pentagon already believes that Syria has surreptitiously supported the Zarqawi terrorists in Iraq that attempt to hijack freedom for the Iraqi people and target US military forces. This clumsy and transparent move on Assad's part will remove all doubt as to his involvement in terror.

Forget the Lebanese unity and their demands for Syrian withdrawal for the moment. Damascus now has to look eastward first, to the 150,000 American troops in Iraq that threaten to swamp Syria and pluck Assad like an overripe grape off a diseased vine. The same force humbled the region's largest and most battle-tested army in three weeks, and Syria knows that it has no chance at all of resisting it. Assad just painted a big "Kick Me" sign to Damascus' back. Prior to this discovery, any operation against Syria would have been seen as an overreach by the US against Syria. Now, however, Adas' connections to Zarqawi and Syria, once corroborated, will demonstrate that the Syrians have played an active role in supporting the terror in Iraq and that action against Assad would in fact help cripple Zarqawi.

The only argument against all of this is one that claims that Bashar Assad cannot possibly be this stupid. However, the evidence has begun to mount that he may well be. It provides yet another reason for Arabs to embrace democracy as opposed to strong-man rule. The leadership tends to improve as they face more and more accountability for their actions and policies. The US should prepare to act against Syria if they determine with solid evidence that Assad has indeed been dumb enough to violate the Bush Doctrine, and Adas appears to go a long way toward that conclusion.

Posted by Captain Ed at February 20, 2005 07:23 AM

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