BBC (late Thursday): Lebanon president urged to resign

[Jack Rabbit]

From the BBC Online
Dated Thursday June 2 22:47 GMT (3:47 pm PDT)

Lebanon president urged to resign

Lebanon's opposition has called for pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud to resign over the killing of a leading journalist in Beirut on Thursday.

Samir Qasir, an opposition figure and critic of Syrian influence in Beirut, was killed by a bomb placed in his car.

An opposition statement said Mr Lahoud must resign over Qasir's death, which comes amid closely-contested elections.

Mr Lahoud has condemned the attack and Syria has rejected opposition charges that it engineered Qasir's killing.

Read more.

[TexasLawyer]

1. Bush resignation

Many people have called for Bush's resignation or impeachment over the Downing Street Minutes.

Weird, though... the stories about this really have not been picked up by the press.

[hector459]

2. I don't think Syria is behind any of this.

It's either Israel or the US or a combination. For Syria to be behind this simply does not make sense...no gains for them. But who has the most to gain by destablizing Lebanon and blaming it on Syria?

[Jack Rabbit]

3. Possibly "Syria"

Or somebody in Syria. It's quite possible that Assad is not in control and that his officers can act without his knowledge or approval.

For many years, Syria has been using Lebanon as a colony. Unemployment in Syria? Let them find work in Lebanon and they stop complaining,

"Syria", whatever that means, has something to gain by maintaining a presence.

[fujiyama]

13. It could very well be spite

I'm not dismissing a possibility that US and/or Israeli intelligence had anything to do with it (God knows how much those two have meddled in Lebanon's affairs), but Syria's own intelligence is present.

[LynnTheDem]

4. Dear Opposition; F*ck off.

Or will they call for the president to resign everytime someone gets killed in Lebanon???

[Jack Rabbit]

5. Why not?

It is the principal duty of the government -- any government -- to maintain public safety.

Lahoud hasn't been terribly successful at that lately.

[LynnTheDem]

6. How many Americans were killed today in America?

Can we demand bush resign because of them?

[Jack Rabbit]

7. That were subject to a political assassination?

None that I know of.

On the other hand, a number of Americans have been killed in Iraq in the last week and detainees are being tortured in US custody; I think Bush, Cheney and three of the four highest-ranked cabinet officers should resign over that.

[LynnTheDem]

8. "political assassination"?

A reporter.

In Beirut.

I'm missing a lot here; how is this a "political assassination"?

[Jack Rabbit]

9. Let's back up a few hours. Here's the earlier report . . .

From the BBC Online
Dated Thursday June 2 13:20 GMT (6:20 am PDT)

Anti-Syria writer slain in Beirut

A prominent anti-Syrian journalist has been killed by a bomb planted in his car in a mostly Christian residential area of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Police said Samir Qasir died instantly in the blast outside his home in the Ashrafiyeh district.

Mr Qasir was known as a supporter of Lebanon's anti-Syrian opposition.

Syria ended its 29-year military presence in Lebanon in April under intense international pressure and after huge popular demonstrations.

Read more.

[LynnTheDem]

10. He's a reporter. So if Sy Hersch was killed, that would be a "political

assassination"?

Doesn't sound right.

But the guy could have been boffing someone's wife. Anyways, the LAST thing Syria would do is car-bomb a reporter known to be anti-Syrian. They're just not that stupid.

It's such a shame that Lebanon had asked Syria to send troops to stabilize Lebanon. And such a shame that Syria agreed to do so, and in fact did stabilize Lebanon. Syria should have told Lebanon to get lost. "No good deed...".

[fujiyama]

12. It depends

If Sy Hersh were killed by a bomb blast targetting him, then it would be very possible it would be connected to someone within the administration. I'd certainly be suspicious and I'm sure the rest of DU would as well.

The whole thing is suspicious, but sure enough this could be US or Israeli intelligence.

[Jack Rabbit]

14. As a matter of fact, yes.

If Sy Hersh were killed by some wingnut thinking Hersh ought to shut up, that would be a political assassination. It would be regardless of whether this were a lone nut or whether somebody in the White House ordered it.

Anyways, the LAST thing Syria would do is car-bomb a reporter known to be anti-Syrian. They're just not that stupid.

What makes you think they're not that stupid? For one thing, it's very difficult to speak of "Syria" nowadays and know about whom you're talking. When old man Assad ruled with an iron fist, things were different, but his son the idiot prince doesn't know what's going on under his nose. Syrian intelligence officers could have pulled this off without authorization.

Other suspects (much better ones than Israel, the neocons or a cuckold) would be pro-Syrian elements in Lebanon. There are a lot of them.

As for the speculation that he was banging somebody's wife, that's possible; however, I'd be curious to know if you think that Hariri was just banging somebody's wife or if that was a political assassination.

Political assassinations are nothing new in Lebanon. Lebanon went through a very long and bloody civil war (1975-90) and recent assassinations are remnants of that period. The car bombing is the preferred method, regardless of the victim.

It's such a shame that Lebanon had asked Syria to send troops to stabilize Lebanon. And such a shame that Syria agreed to do so, and in fact did stabilize Lebanon. Syria should have told Lebanon to get lost. "No good deed...".

It seemed like a good idea at the time. In fact, even the US welcomed it then; that's quite a change from now, when the Syrians couldn't get out fast enough for the Bushies. Syrians troops were there to stabilize Lebanon because Lebanese forces had been fighting each other.

[LynnTheDem]

15. I know why Syrian troops were there; they were asked to be there.

But look at the "thanks" they got.

Like I said, "no good deed..."; as in "no good deed goes unpunished".

I've no idea why Hariri was killed; has that investigation been solved yet? My guess, and only my guess, is someone wants Syria to get the blame. Because in fact Syria is being blamed, which wouldn't be difficult to forsee.

[Jack Rabbit]

16. No, that investigation hasn't been completed yet

However, it is far more likely to be what it appears: Syrian agents, acting with or without the authority of President Assad, or a pro-Syrian faction in Lebanon.

To somebody who merely wanted Syria to "get the blame", Hariri would have been more effective alive rallying the opposition than dead. And of course Syrians or Syrians allies in Lebanon would get the blame; they had the most to gain from Hariri's death. Consequently, if we want to talk about somebody not being "that stupid", we should not assume that anti-Syrians factions in Lebanon or their allies in the Israel or the US would be so stupid as to waste an effective political leader whose goals converged with their own.

Consider that political assassinations in Lebanon have been relatively commonplace for the last thirty years and that the preferred method of assassination is the car bomb. Unless there is something solid to point to anti-Syrian forces in some half-baked plot to create a few martyrs, there is simply no reason to speculate that this is the case.

[LynnTheDem]

17. I'll presume innocence then until the investigation is completed.

:)

[daleo]

11. Suppose the Lebanese president resigned, and the opposition took over

And then another journalist got killed. Should the opposition then have to resign in its turn? The reasoning here is not sound.