Targeted assassinations

Arthur Chrenkoff's blog is one of the most active with news and views from Down Under on politics, international affairs and culture. In his latest update about Lebanon he discusses the possibilities of non-Syrian involvement in the killing of Rafik Hariri. He quotes sources that claim that this could have been another Israeli targeted assassination similar to those carried out in other places including Malta:

One person who agrees - kind of - is Patrick Seale in the "Guardian": "If Syria killed Rafik Hariri, Lebanon's former prime minister and mastermind of its revival after the civil war, it must be judged an act of political suicide..."If Syria did not kill Hariri, who could have? There is no shortage of potential candidates, including far-right Christians, anxious to rouse opinion against Syria and expel it from Lebanon; Islamist extremists who have not forgiven Syria its repression of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 80s; and, of course, Israel."Israel's ambition has long been to weaken Syria, sever its strategic alliance with Iran and destroy Hizbullah. Israel has great experience at 'targeted assassinations' - not only in the Palestinian territories but across the Middle East.

Over the years, it has sent hit teams to kill opponents in Beirut, Tunis, Malta, Amman and Damascus."I first remember encountering Seale when I read his biography of the Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal (Nidal, as you will recall, died in suspicious circumstances in 2002, while enjoying Saddam's hospitality), built on the thesis that Nidal must have been a secret Israeli agent because no "genuine" Palestinian terrorist would have done so much damage to the Palestinian cause. Enough said.

In defense of Israel - The Nudnik File

The Malta - Lebanon connection - Wired Temples

The other occupation - Malta9Thermidor

Did Syria do it? For and against - from Lebanon Anyone?