Report: Hariri tribunal to link top Hezbollah figures to assassination, violence may ensue.

www.haaretz.com...
online.wsj.com...

According to the Wall Street Journal, the international tribunal will link two of the six central figures in Hezbollah to the assassination. One of the figures the tribunal will point to is Imad Mughniyeh, considered a top Hezbollah official until his 2008 killing in a Damascus car bombing.

If the report is correct and the tribunal does link Mughniyeh to the bombing, which left 22 others dead as well, then this is likely to result in intense criticism of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Domestically, tensions are likely to rise between the country's various ethno-religious communities, and pressure will mount on the heavily armed Shi'ite organization and its allies.

The Hezbollah leadership is likely concerned about the pending publication of the report and subsequent indictments, and leader Hassan Nasrallah may try to undermine the process.

Hezbollah had been hoping the tribunal would make do with indictments against low ranking members of the group. However, proof of Mughniyeh's involvement would put pressure on Nasrallah, who will be suspected of either having been involved in the assassination or allowing one of his lieutenants to act without his approval.

Another figure believed to be linked to the Hariri assassination is Mustafa Badr al-Din, Nasrallah's brother in law.

"Such an indictment is a warning bell equivalent to lighting the fuse, to igniting the wick for an explosion, and is dangerous for Lebanon," Hezbollah's No. 2 official, Naim Qassem, told the BBC Arabic service on Tuesday.

Hezbollah isn't likely to give up any of its members to the tribunal, and Lebanon's armed forces are significantly weaker than Hezbollah's militia. In 2008, Hezbollah militiamen briefly seized swaths of territory in Beirut, following a standoff over security issues with Mr. Hariri's pro-Western faction during Lebanon's previous government.

Mr. Jumblatt, originally one of the strongest supporters of Saad Hariri and the investigation into his father's murder, has damped his enthusiasm for the U.N.'s work in recent months, saying it risks setting off a sectarian conflict inside Lebanon. Hezbollah represents Lebanon's Shiite population, while Mr. Hariri is the leader of the country's largest Sunni political faction.

Members of Mr. Hariri's coalition have interpreted Hezbollah's warnings over the possible indictments as a bid to incite fresh sect-based violence.

The current acting PM of Lebanon is Hariri's son, who would obviously not let this thing rest, even if it does mean the instability of his own country.
Also it seems as though Hezballah- The opposing Lebanese party at the time- was the one who planned and carried out this assassination..
This is as if the Republicans would assassinate Obama.

There have been talks of attempting a non violent coup, and there are talks of violence between various ethnic groups..
Scary times to be living in the once peaceful, moderate, western country of Lebanon.

This is as if the Republicans would assassinate Obama.

Bad example since they are the same party.

Anyway. Who really killed Hairi? The Syrians? Israel? Hezbollah?

Nobody knows for sure.

But if you see at who would profit from civil war in Lebanon... are the same parties. Syria/Hezbollah/Israel.

So... we shall see what happens in Lebanon and who does what to truly knows who was behind the assassination.

If Hezbollah takes over, Hezbollah did it.
If Israel starts a war and annex Lebanese territory, Israel did it.
If Syria reoccupies Lebanon, Syria did it.

reply to post by Vitchilo


lol fair enough..
What if non of these happen? Would that mean it was a suicide?


BTW, Obama's a democrat..

BTW, Obama's a democrat..

Yeah but democrats republicans... same thing really.

The republicans are just a little more warhawks.


And if nothing happens, then... I guess we'll never know for sure.

reply to post by Eliad

Imad Mughniyah, a very dangerous terrorist, is dead:

Imad Mughniyah was killed on February 12, 2008 by a car bomb, planted inside the driver's headrest,[7] around 11:00 pm local time in the Kfar Suseh neighborhood of Damascus, Syria.[8][9]

On October 27, Israeli Major General Amos Yadlin said Israel carried out his assassination

en.wikipedia.org...

Some Lebanese politicians have doubts about the impartiality of the Special Lebanon Tribunual(SLT) due to various leaks and also allegations that false witness testimony had been allowed:

Mohammed Zaheer Al-Sadiq, a former Syrian agent, has accused Hezbollah personnel of "logistical involvement" in the murder.[37] The tribunal has stated, however, that he is no longer considered a credible witness

en.wikipedia.org...

Doesnt mean to say people asscociated with hezbollah didnt have anything to do with it, but there are some doubts as to the impartiality of the Tribunal.
Most of the West and the Israelis believed the Syrians had something to do with it and the UN investigation even held four Lebanese Generals they believed were responsable.
Then the political winds changed...

I hope Lebanon gets through this.