NewsMine — war-on-terror — syria — 2005-syria-focus — Hariri-blast — Viewing Item

Kanaan had good relationship with hariri { October 12 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-1822718,00.html http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-1822718,00.html October 12, 2005 Analysis: death of a Syrian minister Nick Blanford, Lebanon Correspondent for The Times, explains why Syrians will doubt that their Interior Minister, Ghazi Kanaan really committed suicide today "In Syria the plot is king. Even if Ghazi Kanaan did commit suicide, most Lebanese are going to jump to the conclusion that he was murdered. "His death seems to kill two birds with one stone. The Syrian regime can now use Kanaan as a scapegoat over the UN investigation into the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. It also eliminates a potential challenge to the current regime and the presidency. "Kanaan was a very powerful figure from the Alawi sect which is at the core of the Syrian regime. After 21 years as the effective ruler of Lebanon he went back to Damascus and the following year was made Interior Minister. "He was one of the old guard from the time of former president Hafez Assad, whose son, Bashar, has slowly got rid of his father's generation. Now there are only a couple left. Kanaan was nonetheless a very powerful figure. "He was a strong-willed man, very sharp and intelligent, who had weathered many crises over the years from the mid-1970s throughout Lebanon's civil war. He dealt with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1980s, the chaos and disorder, and he was able to survive all this and come through unscathed. "He was a very capable figure and it doesn't make much sense that at this stage in his life he would kill himself just because he might be implicated in Hariri's assassination. That wasn't very likely anyway. He had a good relationship with Hariri, after working with him for a number of years. "Like Hariri, Kanaan opposed extending by three years the mandate of the pro-Syrian Lebanese President, Emile Lahoud. "He was one of the old regime figures who were more realistic and correctly foresaw that extending Mr Lahoud's presidency would cause problems. He warned that Syria was in enough trouble with the US as it was. "Kanaan was seen as a potential alternative to President Bashar al-Assad, which made him something of a threat. There have been rumours for some months that Kanaan was going to be kicked out of government. "I have just been talking to a very prominent Damascus analyst, who predicts that Kanaan will be blamed for the Hariri assassination. "This would lift the international pressure off the Syrian regime, and avoid the risk that Kanaan might launch a coup backed by the US and take over the presidency."

Accusations fly over beirut blast Blast [jpg] Bomb blast came from drainage system { February 16 2005 } Bomb blast in exclusive section of city waterfront Clinton calls Hariri personal friend { March 8 2005 } Crater bombing [jpg] Crater [jpg] Crater2 [jpg] Daughter Hariri becomes worlds youngest billionaire { March 9 2006 } Dead interior minister challenger to assad { October 12 2005 } Device jammed cell phone during blast { February 14 2005 } Expert says assassination was state agencies Explosion [jpg] French US played good cop bad cop on mideast { February 3 2006 } Hariri assassination must had intelligence involvement Hariri bombing blamed on syria Hitech bomb out matched hitech armored convoy Intelligence agency behind blast { February 14 2005 } Kanaan and hariri on friendly terms Kanaan had good relationship with hariri { October 12 2005 } Kanaan not regarded as suspect says nyt { October 13 2005 } Kanaan regarded as key witness in investigation Kanaan was prime suspect Lebanese and syrian intelligence behind killing Massive bomb rips through lebanese motorcade { February 14 2005 } Qaeda says jihadists didnt kill hariri Responsible group speaks arabic with foreign accent { February 15 2005 } Syria despites un report on hariri death { October 22 2005 } Top assassination suspect was US syrian favorite { October 13 2005 } UN report blames syria United nation probe less threatening to syria { April 25 2006 } US suggests syria to blame in UN security council { February 15 2005 } Witness paid to blame syria Wounded [jpg] Files Listed: 34

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.