More rumblings...

A few follow-up links on the Syrian situation. The New York Times has an interesting article on how the complicated politics of Lebanon are getting in the way of investigating Hariri's death. President Emile Lahoud, a close friend of the Syrian government, has taken the unusual step of appointing the Lebanese Army, which is loyal to him, to investigate the bombing. The UN is flying in a team of Swiss experts, which (one presumes) will have a little more neutrality- as is their way, you know? Meanwhile, the debate is whether it was a sucide bombing, which would have been a parked car on the side of the road and which would exonerate Syria, or a giant bomb in the middle of the road, which would point to their invlvement, as that is a more complicated way of doing things. Eyewitnesses disagree on whether the cars were blown laterally (suicide bomber) or vertically (Syrian role). It is a fascinating article, equal parts forensics and politics. There is also an article about the new Syrian spy chief, Bashar al-Asad's brother-in-law. Asad passed a law a few months ago demanding a mandatory retirement age, which is a very clever way of consolidating his power. Perhaps young Bashar has the chops to survive. We'll see how he weathers this storm, though.

Also check out this BBC story analyzing the fallout in Syria. For a more visually and aurally stimulating discussion of much the same, though with far less candor, see Syrian Ambassador to the United States Imad Mustapha on C-Span's Washington Journal. He is very smooth, and points out that Syria has a lot to lose and Syria's enemies have a lot to gain by Hariri's death, which in a sense is true. But one can rarely lose money betting on the irrationality of dictators who need to show that they are still powerful and can play a role in an arena where their power is slipping. Again, there is no sure linkage to Syria, but it would be foolish to dismiss them as suspects because it isn't the smart move.

There are a few gems in the interview. There is the normal flim-flam about how the Lebanese invited the Syrians in (which is true, but a long time ago) and how no Lebanese government has asked them to leave (also true, but Syria controls Lebanese politics- until they stop that, a departure request is not forthcoming). My favorite part, though, was when the host asked Ambassador Mustapha when Syria entered Lebanon. He hedged, kind of laughed, and said he wasn't good with figures. But, as an olive branch, "...let's say 15 years." Which would bring us to about 1990, many years after Syria actually moved in. Still, it was a nice dodge.