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Jewish World Review Oct. 20, 2005 / 17 Tishrei, 5766 On to Syria? By Jack Kelly
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
On the morning of Oct. 12th, Syria's Interior minister, Maj. Gen. Ghazi
Kanaan, was found dead in his office from a gunshot wound to the head.
Kanaan's death was ruled a suicide, but there were doubters.
"For those of you who don't know what 'committed suicide' means in Syria, it
means someone committed it for him," said Anton Efendi, an American PhD
candidate who lives in Lebanon.
Kanaan was one of several Syrians questioned in the United Nations probe of
the assassination of anti-Syrian Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri in
February of last year. That assassination sparked massive protests, which
led to withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, though intelligence
operatives remained behind.
The day before Kanaan's death, four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals were
arrested in connection with Hariri's murder.
Before becoming Interior minister, Kanaan had for 20 years been the chief
Syrian intelligence officer in Lebanon.
"All high ranking Lebanese officials report directly to Kanaan and he has
the final word on all major political and security decisions made by the
Lebanese government," wrote Daniel Nassif in the Middle East Intelligence
Bulletin in January, 2000.
Gebran Tueni, a member of Lebanon's parliament, told the Washington Post
that Kanaan's death was "proof of Syria's involvement in Hariri's murder."
German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis has been conducting an investigation of
Hariri's murder for the United Nations. Mehlis interviewed Ganaan in
September. He is supposed to report the results of his investigation to the
Security Council by Oct. 25th.
Mehlis is likely "to point to a Syrian role in the killing but call for
another stage in the investigation, focusing on Damascus," reported
Britain's Financial Times. "Diplomats say that if Syria fails to cooperate,
it would face political and economic sanctions."
Some who think Kanaan's suicide was assisted speculate Assad didn't want the
U.N. to hear what Kanaan might have had to say.
"(Kanaan) must be the most knowledgeable person in the world about Lebanon,"
said an editorial in the Lebanese newspaper Ya Libnan. "Having him as a
witness in the UN investigation is of paramount importance to find out the
truth about Hariri's murder."
But Joshua Landis, a University of Oklahoma professor currently living in
Damascus, speculates Assad had Kanaan offed for fear Kanaan might lead a
coup against him.
"Kanaan was the most senior Alawi (the minority sect to which the Assad
family belongs) of the Hafiz's (Bashar's father) generation. He had served
as intelligence chief and minister of interior giving him influence over and
knowledge of all branches of the security services...If Washington were to
turn to anyone to carry out a coup against Bashar, it would have to place
Ghazi Kanaan on the top of its list," Landis wrote in his blog,
'SyriaComment.'
Landis thinks a coup is unlikely. But several of his Syrian correspondents
say conditions have deteriorated so badly the alternative to a coup could be
breakup of the country.
If the UN imposes economic sanctions, bad conditions in Syria will get
worse.
The London Times reported Saturday that the Bush administration has —
through an Egyptian general — offered Assad a "Gaddafi deal."
The U.S. reestablished diplomatic relations with and lifted trade sanctions
against Libya in 2003 after Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi agreed to give
up his weapons of mass destruction.
The U.S. has offered to restore diplomatic and trade relations with Syria if
Assad:
"Assad is desperately seeking a way out," an Arab diplomat told the London
Times.
But most observers think Bashar Assad will reject the deal, either because
he thinks he can survive despite pressure from the U.S. and the U.N., or
because he isn't really in charge of the country.
However, the success of the constitutional referendum in Iraq, coupled with
inability of the insurgents to disrupt it, means Bush can now devote
considerable attention — and if need be, troops — to the problem of Syria.
The goal seems to be to "get (the regime) by the throat, and then really
squeeze," Landis said.
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© 2005, Jack Kelly |
Mitch Albom | |||||||||||
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