Mehlis Report: Implications
Harold's List
by: Oubai Shahbandar
www.syriacommentplus.com
The conclusions of the Mehlis Report are more than damning for the continued existence of Assad II's Ba'athist regime. It does not only implicate mere members of the regime for their direct involvement in Rafiq Harriri's assassination, but in essence the very regime itself.
According to Al Jazeera: "[Assad's brother] Maher, brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, along with five other Syrian officials, with the aid of some Lebanese officials, plotted the bomb attack that murdered the former Lebanese Premier in the 14th of February." Lt. Gen. Rustom Ghazali, Maj. Gen. General Jamil al-Sayyed and Brig. Gen. Mustapha Hamdan were among the indicted.
The Reform Party of Syria first reported significant involvement of Assef Shawkat in the Harriri assasination on Oct. 15th. Shawkat's subsequent order for the assassination of rival Ghazi Kannan was a direct result of fears amongst Shawkat and his subordinates that their inevitable indictment would lead to Kannan making a move to remove Shawkat and his faction from power. Only Ghazi Kannan would have been in a position capable of confronting the ambitious Shawkat, whose wife is Bashar Assad's sister. With Kannan out of the picture, Shawkat's monopoly on elite intelligence units stood uncontested along with his new found dominance as the second most powerful man in the Ba'athist regime.
The implications for Assad II are quite clear: The indictment list is too broad and encompassing of all major figures that make his rule possible. Surrendering them is not an option. Had Assad II actually gone through the democratic reforms that he had promised early in his rule, he would not be in the position he finds himself today. Instead, he increasingly relied upon a closed circle of corrupt family members and security services to ensure the continuity of his rule and eliminate any rivals or potential rivals that posed to threaten it. He became hostage to his own dictatorial desires; and now Assad II is finding himself coming full circle to the consequences of governance based upon the faulty notions of one's superior mandate above all other mortals.
International legitimacy and support has for all purposes been lent to the efforts of opposition figures seeking to usher in a new government in Syria. The anvil has been set, it is now a question of timing before the hammer descends upon Assad II's increasingly brittle capacity to rule as a dictator and get away with it at the same time.
by: Oubai Shahbandar
www.syriacommentplus.com
The conclusions of the Mehlis Report are more than damning for the continued existence of Assad II's Ba'athist regime. It does not only implicate mere members of the regime for their direct involvement in Rafiq Harriri's assassination, but in essence the very regime itself.
According to Al Jazeera: "[Assad's brother] Maher, brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, along with five other Syrian officials, with the aid of some Lebanese officials, plotted the bomb attack that murdered the former Lebanese Premier in the 14th of February." Lt. Gen. Rustom Ghazali, Maj. Gen. General Jamil al-Sayyed and Brig. Gen. Mustapha Hamdan were among the indicted.
The Reform Party of Syria first reported significant involvement of Assef Shawkat in the Harriri assasination on Oct. 15th. Shawkat's subsequent order for the assassination of rival Ghazi Kannan was a direct result of fears amongst Shawkat and his subordinates that their inevitable indictment would lead to Kannan making a move to remove Shawkat and his faction from power. Only Ghazi Kannan would have been in a position capable of confronting the ambitious Shawkat, whose wife is Bashar Assad's sister. With Kannan out of the picture, Shawkat's monopoly on elite intelligence units stood uncontested along with his new found dominance as the second most powerful man in the Ba'athist regime.
The implications for Assad II are quite clear: The indictment list is too broad and encompassing of all major figures that make his rule possible. Surrendering them is not an option. Had Assad II actually gone through the democratic reforms that he had promised early in his rule, he would not be in the position he finds himself today. Instead, he increasingly relied upon a closed circle of corrupt family members and security services to ensure the continuity of his rule and eliminate any rivals or potential rivals that posed to threaten it. He became hostage to his own dictatorial desires; and now Assad II is finding himself coming full circle to the consequences of governance based upon the faulty notions of one's superior mandate above all other mortals.
International legitimacy and support has for all purposes been lent to the efforts of opposition figures seeking to usher in a new government in Syria. The anvil has been set, it is now a question of timing before the hammer descends upon Assad II's increasingly brittle capacity to rule as a dictator and get away with it at the same time.
posted by Marko at 10/21/2005 05:24:00 PM
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