Indictments Handed Down in Hariri Assassination

Middle East • January 2011 • Views: 1,537

The indictments have been handed down but will be reviewed over the next several weeks before their contents are made public. It’s been rumored/leaked that the indictments will point at Hizbullah and its terror masters in Damascus and Tehran - and that explains why Iran is busy trying to claim this is a US/Israeli plot and that both the US and/or Israel were behind the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.

The impending indictments brought Hizbullah to withdraw from the government as a way to undercut Saad Hariri’s government and ability to function. That’s got foreign diplomats trying to work with Hariri to keep things going and to maintain some level of stability in Lebanon despite Hizbullah’s best efforts.

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11 comments

Daniel Ballard Mon, Jan 17, 2011 3:23:12pm

Glad to see this on any number of levels. After all the Newsmax related skepticism I'm glad to see the story confirmed.

Bob Levin Mon, Jan 17, 2011 3:42:48pm

re: #1 Rightwingconspirator

You said it, bro'.

bratwurst Mon, Jan 17, 2011 7:08:34pm

re: #1 Rightwingconspirator

Glad to see this on any number of levels. After all the Newsmax related skepticism I'm glad to see the story confirmed.

What exactly has been confirmed for you? The Newsmax story was not simply that indictments were going to be handed down, it was the Khamenei personally ordered the assassination. Even if (as appears more than likely) there are one or more Hezbollah associates named, that is a far cry from the drama promised by the Newsmax story.

lawhawk Mon, Jan 17, 2011 7:19:04pm

re: #3 bratwurst

The rumors of who will be indicted remain just that. Common sense and the events as they've panned out would indicate that Hizbullah and their terror masters were somehow involved. Precisely who those individuals are is still not known, and is known only to the special investigator and the judge reviewing the matter.

I wont be surprised if it turns out that top thugs in the Assad regime are named, along with any Hizbullah or even members of the Iranian government.

We'll just have to wait a few more weeks to find out.

theye1 Mon, Jan 17, 2011 8:48:21pm

re: #4 lawhawk

I think you're overestimating the amount of influence that Iran and Syria has on Hezbollah. Secondly, Rafiq Hariri was cooperating with the Syrian Intelligence in 1992 (and he was never a vocal critic of Syria after 1992 like supporters claim) and he bought all his political positions, especially the position of Prime minster. He used his political position to personally enrich himself at the expense of Lebanon's Poor (which are overwhelmingly Shiite, by the way).

Yes, the assassination of Rafiq Hariri was bad thing and the people responsible should be prosecuted. But the truth is that Lebanon is better off without Rafiq Hariri.

nakhmish Tue, Jan 18, 2011 12:45:41am

I must say I'll be positively amazed if anyone other than low level thugs will be publicly named. These indictments were held and re visioned for so long that I don't know how much of the truth remains there. Everyone is so afraid for the stability of Lebanon that I'm afraid political considerations might take over truth and justice as top priority. Even though ,as an Israeli who lives in the north of Israel, I know that a political mess in Lebanon might result in various types of missiles flying at my house, I think that in the long run truth and justice should be the only thing courts care for.
theye1 - please name your sources, since from the ones I read (Haaretz and international newspapers mainly) you cannot overestimate the amount of influence that Iran and Syria have on Hezbollah.
I feel so sorry for the poor citizens of Lebanon, that like in Gaza, have to make a choice between a corrupt regime that steals their money and favors a minority and a deadly fanatic one that is willing to sacrifice them for the cause of a Muslim empire. I wonder if they would agree with you that Lebanon is better with Hezbollah than with Hariri. Even if they don't, they will never say so, because Hezbollah will hurt them for saying such a thing A.S.A.P.

theye1 Tue, Jan 18, 2011 2:44:48am

re: #6 nakhmish

theye1 - please name your sources, since from the ones I read (Haaretz and international newspapers mainly) you cannot overestimate the amount of influence that Iran and Syria have on Hezbollah.

Source 1.

Source 2

Source 3

(It's a bit hard to post sources without access to JSTOR.)

I'm not arguing that Iran and Syria doesn't have influence Hezbollah, I am just saying that neither Iran or Syria can force Hezbollah into any kind of action that it doesn't want to do. Especially Syria, since Hezbollah's rise comes at the expense of the Syrian controlled Amal party.

I feel so sorry for the poor citizens of Lebanon, that like in Gaza, have to make a choice between a corrupt regime that steals their money and favors a minority and a deadly fanatic one that is willing to sacrifice them for the cause of a Muslim empire. I wonder if they would agree with you that Lebanon is better with Hezbollah than with Hariri. Even if they don't, they will never say so, because Hezbollah will hurt them for saying such a thing A.S.A.P.

The Sunnis and Maronites might agree with you, but somehow I doubt the Shiites do. The Shiites in Pre-war Lebanon were heavily discriminated against, they got the least amount for social services and absolutely no political representation. That's one of the reasons why Hezbollah so popular, because it's the first time that the Shiites have become politically powerful.

Daniel Ballard Tue, Jan 18, 2011 10:47:08am

re: #3 bratwurst

See I never went by the newsmax story. I went to the AFP link, the Al Jazeeera link and one other. To me the story is the story, not merely the web outlet that happened to also carry it. Plus the story makes perfect sense to me from my reading on the matter over the last year or so.

Firstly, Lawhawk is a very reliable poster. Secondly, multi sourced lets me not depend on any one source. The stated source in the article at Lawhawks blog was people close to the investigation. Newsmax is crap, but because a story appears there does not make it absolutely positively untrue at all times. This is an example of healthy skepticism takes to an unhealthy extreme.

bratwurst Tue, Jan 18, 2011 1:39:14pm

re: #8 Rightwingconspirator

See I never went by the newsmax story.

This is where I stopped reading...because we are talking about apples and oranges here. My problem was the (predictably) extreme nature of the Newsmax story and that legit newspapers seemed to give it a shred of credibility. You have moved the goalpost to be the existence of any indictment at all as "confirmation". Yes, AFP et al reported that there was going to be an indictment. That story was confirmed. The Newsmax story (that Khamenei personally ordered the assassination) has not been anywhere near confirmed. AFP and Al Jazeera never mentioned Newsmax or Khamenei. Therefore when you said:

After all the Newsmax related skepticism I'm glad to see the story confirmed.

I thought you were referring to the Newsmax story SINCE YOU MENTIONED IT. In future I will try not to make the mistake of assuming that the fact that you mention a story means you have actually read it.

Daniel Ballard Tue, Jan 18, 2011 2:59:06pm

re: #9 bratwurst

Apples and oranges indeed. My POV-The controversy was newsmax, the story was indictments for the assassination. See I referred to AFP as the more reliable source with the indictment story. I did not move the goalposts, you read something into my comments I simply did not say or intend. I made my comment in the context of the conversation Saturday night.

A sampling of my comments Saturday-

#55 Rightwingconspirator :: Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 9:59:14 pm
re: #51 bratwurst But neither circumstance called for an outright dismissal either.

#59 Rightwingconspirator :: Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 10:01:37 pm
re: #56 Varek Raith When it's on multiple sources?

#67 Rightwingconspirator :: Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 10:06:10 pm
re: #23 bratwurst I went to two on the links, did ctrl-F with newsmax as the word. Nothin. We'll see Monday.

#98 Rightwingconspirator :: Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 10:24:15 pm
re: #93 Varek Raith How about AFP? That kinda held my attention.

bratwurst Tue, Jan 18, 2011 3:58:43pm

Let's agree to disagree. I found nothing remotely controversial about the idea of indictments being handed down. Indeed they were. I did, however, find the further details in the Newsmax story highly dubious. I also expressed my disappointment that Jerusalem Post and Haaretz would print something unverified from Newsmax. So in conclusion, the AFP and Al Jazeera stories are absolutely confirmed. The Newsmax story is absolutely not confirmed.

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