Posted by W. Thomas Smith Jr. on 30 September 2008 at 12:28 am UTC
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV and other media — both bad guys (like Hezbollah) and good guys — are reporting a statement purportedly uttered by Syrian Pres. Bashar Assad during a recent interview for Hawadeth magazine, which clearly supports Dr. Walid Phares’ analysis (read for background here and here) that Syria may well-be prepping the international community – setting up some justification – for that country’s forthcoming cross-border military operations into Lebanon.
“North Lebanon became a real base for extremism and constitutes a danger for Syria,” Assad said in the interview, slated to be published Friday.
Phares discusses the comment further at Counterterrorism Blog.
Meanwhile, the Daily Star is reporting that parliamentarian Saad Hariri, leader of the Future Movement and son of the assassinated former prime minister Rafik Hariri, said:
“Some agencies were smuggling extremist fighters over the borders ‘in order to spread chaos and commit terrorist acts that target army officers and civilians.’
“He [Hariri] said last week’s deployment of Syrian troops all along Lebanon’s northern borders was carried out under the pretext of preventing smuggling, but was actually intended to frighten the Lebanese.
“Hariri questioned why similar deployments had not occurred on Syria’s borders with Israel and Iraq. The Syrian leadership was looking for any excuse to obstruct the normalization of relations with Lebanon, Hariri said, adding that the people of Lebanon would not accept Assad reassurances, because his actions contained an honest and direct threat to Lebanon’s sovereignty.
“Hariri also warned the international community not to accept any Syrian intervention in Lebanon under the guise of confronting extremists.”
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