While I was on their site I came across this - note the date:
Geagea predicts assassinations of Lebanon ministers Saturday, 18 November, 2006 @ 9:45 AM Beirut - Samir Geagea an anti-Syrian Christian leader said on Friday efforts to topple Lebanon's Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora could lead to assassination attempts against cabinet ministers. (...) Geagea told Reuters that the government now has 17 ministers, if 3 of these ministers were eliminated then the government will automatically fall. (...) He would not say who might try to kill ministers, but said Syria has some minor allies in Lebanon who may attempt the assassinations to prevent the international court from taking place.
Beirut - Samir Geagea an anti-Syrian Christian leader said on Friday efforts to topple Lebanon's Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora could lead to assassination attempts against cabinet ministers. (...) Geagea told Reuters that the government now has 17 ministers, if 3 of these ministers were eliminated then the government will automatically fall. (...) He would not say who might try to kill ministers, but said Syria has some minor allies in Lebanon who may attempt the assassinations to prevent the international court from taking place.
I had the impression everyone else was worried mainly about the promised mass demos, thought street-fighting or shootouts might break out.. first I'd heard about expectations of ministers being assassinated! Also striking how so far the action (prediction + attacks) all seems to be inside the contentious little world of Lebanon's Christian parties.
Jumping onto a completely different hypothesis-track: I've read somewhere that in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon there are some Salafist factions that are both fiercely anti-Lebanese-Christian (...bad bad memories...) and strongly anti-Shi'ite for sectarian reasons.. some of which are tending towards AQ if not actually allied with it? AQ is another "player" that would just LOVE the havoc of civil war in Lebanon - as would Israel. "Ignoring moralities is always undesirable, but doing so systematically is really worrisome." Mohammed Khatami
An interesting snippet:
The Al-Hayat newspaper reported that al-Qaida issued the statement from the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared in northern Lebanon. "The organization has arrived in Lebanon and we will work on destroying this corrupt government that receives orders from the American administration," Al-Hayat said, quoting the statement. Although it was impossible to verify the authenticity of the message, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi cast doubt on its veracity Monday.
"The organization has arrived in Lebanon and we will work on destroying this corrupt government that receives orders from the American administration," Al-Hayat said, quoting the statement.
Although it was impossible to verify the authenticity of the message, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi cast doubt on its veracity Monday.
It's just possible that AQ guys among the Palestinians north of Beirut did carry out the job.
In the camps, they are relatively open, and I know several people who have actually met them there. In other parts of the country, friends who live in Lebanon tell me they're a known presence, but much more secretive. In both cases, a significant number of them have returned to Lebanon from Iraq. But we are also not talking about hundreds or thousands of people, from what I understand.
BTW, maybe US intel would be worth something if it recruited you... *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
Actually, I don't know whether to be insulted or relieved that they've never tried. I know a couple of people they have approached. But their language skills are better than mine....
