Is this the hand of Syria in Lebanon? The Lebanese seem to think so.
"Pierre Gemayel was expected to carry the mantle of the political family. Amin Gemayel, his father and the current Phalange leader, was Lebanon's president between 1982 and 1988. His grandfather, the late Pierre Gemayel, led the right-wing Christian Phalange Party that fielded the largest Christian militia and was allied with Israel during the 1975-90 civil war between Christians and Muslims.
Amin Gemayel's brother, Bashir, was elected president in 1982 but was assassinated days before taking office. Two of Amin Gemayel's nephews and Bashir's daughter were killed in the 1970s and 1980s.
The slain Pierre Gemayel was a prominent figure in Lebanon's anti-Syrian bloc, which dominates Saniora's Cabinet and the parliament - and which is now locked in a power struggle with the Muslim Shiite Hezbollah and its allies. He was elected first in 2000, then re-elected in 2005."
Similar story in the
Washington Post with different talking points.
"Today one of our own main believers in a free, democratic Lebanon has been killed, and we believe the hands of Syria are all over the place," Saad Hariri, leader of the largest Sunni Muslim party, said in an interview with CNN shortly after the killing.
In Damascus, Syria's official news agency denounced the assassination. "Syria strongly condemns the killing," the SANA agency said. "This is a crime aimed at destabilizing Lebanon." It asserted that "Syria is careful about preserving Lebanon's security, unity and civil peace."
My point?
I guess I don't have a point. This family has been involved in serving their nation for a long time. They've been losing their sons one by one. Who benefits by the murder of these men? It isn't the people of Lebanon.
They were mentioned quite frequently in a biography I read about Anwar Sadat. Another assassination. It seems like whenever there is a person who might pull people together they get assassinated. Darn shame.
