Assassination Wags The Dog

Before we go to war with Syria and Iran it would be a good idea to keep an eye on any mention of the two countries in the world press, or especially the American media. On February 18, 2005 a story appeared concerning the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4276719.stm) A very interesting part of this article states, “The Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal Bin Abdel-Aziz, said unless the perpetrators were brought to justice, there would be unforeseen consequences for the entire region.” Right after this it was reported that the U.S. had recalled our ambassador. The Saudi government speaks and we jump. The report also says, “One of the main reasons for Washington's hardening attitude towards Damascus is its support for the militant Lebanese group, Hezbollah.” Catering to the whims of the governments of Saudi Arabia and Israel has always been the context of our foreign policy.
So bearing all this in mind we see a report from the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/4305927.stm)
The story sates, “However, a BBC correspondent in Damascus says the Syrian authorities must be worried the situation in Lebanon is spiralling out of their control and might result in a new government demanding the immediate withdrawal of Syria's estimated 15,000 troops in the country.” So it would seems that the U.S. as it has before has assassinated a leader in order to place a friendly leader in power to get what they want. Remember Chile?
The story delivers rather cryptic remark, “Earlier, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield, on a visit to Lebanon, called on Syria to withdraw its troops in compliance with UN resolution 1559, passed in September.” The United States government insisting that another country abide by U.N. resolutions is laughable. Someone should drop leaflets on Pennsylvania Avenue listing the Geneva Convention.
The story concludes with, “Syria says not even the Lebanese want a full Syrian withdrawal, but last week it said it would draw troops back from western Lebanon to areas nearer the Syrian border.” Troops moved to the Syrian border just in time for a precision bombing by the U.S. government. War is one event in history that demands certain events to happen beforehand. Anyone that believes that the assassination and resignation of the Lebanese leader “just happened” is blindly following the shepherd over the cliff into the waves crashing into the shore below.

- Chris Mansel