Was he assassinated because he refused the establishment of US Army bases in Lebanon
Twenty months have passed since the assassination of the Lebanese ex – prime minister Rafic Hariri and the saw is not solved yet. Also, the successive investigation committees could not get an answer that satisfies the Lebanese political and popular environments or even the international ones.
But what is approved till now is the fact that this crime was planned and executed by organizations more powerful than “Annosra” and “Aljihad in Bilad Al Sham” to which Ahmad Abou Adass had integrated. This fact pushed the successive investigation committees to insist on interrogating high political faces in Syria and Lebanon and never listening to witnesses from radical organizations in Lebanon and the region.
Since the death of Hariri on February 14th, the fingers of accusation went to Syrian leadership because it was ruling Lebanon, security and politically wise, where more than 33 thousand Syrian soldiers had been spread.
On the other side, some observers speak about Hariri’s assassination reasons which are not connected to Syria and his opposing position against her interventions in Lebanese affairs. They assume that it was the result of him, refusing an American proposal made to establish two military bases on the Lebanese territories.
This issue stayed a secret since his death until some Lebanese newspapers and TV channels, in harmony with the Syrian and Iranian policy, organized later a campaign showing big risks surrounding the establishment of those non – Lebanese military bases in Lebanon. All Lebanon’s regional and international friends agree that it is necessary to support and to protect the independence and the sovereignty of Lebanon, also not to ruin them in order to build foreign military bases the thing that will drive Lebanon into regional conflicts.
Hezbollah warned about this fact and insisted that those American soldiers will deal as if they were “occupation forces”. Nawaf Al Moussawi, head of foreign relations in the party, said “it is impossible to agree with these kinds of projects. We will consider the American soldiers on our territory as an occupation power and we will deal with according to this”. He added “Let the American administration understand this message the way they want to”, and he refused to identify the actions which may face the American soldiers. It would be important also to mention that “Assafir”, the pro – opposition Lebanese newspaper published some information referring to “trustworthy sources and official American reports” and talking about a request from the US administration to the Lebanese government demanding “ to found training centers, in land and air and sea, and some Radar stations in diverse Lebanese regions”.
Some reports announced that in 2005, an envoy from the White House went to Beirut and suggested while meeting Rafic Hariri, the prime minister, to establish two military bases: the first one near “Kolayat” airport beside Al Bared River in the North; the second in the suburb of “Ryak” airport at the middle of Bekaa region. The American messenger told Hariri that these bases will support the American forces in Iraq by giving them logistic maintenance and protecting the lines of petrol pipes from Baku (Atherbidjan) to Tbilisi in the Turkish Jihan port and from Karcook to Al Mossel to Jihan port.
The envoy also proposed a declaration from the Lebanese government saying that those American bases were made as training centers dedicated to train the Lebanese army after the Israeli withdrawal from the South in order to make the local army ready to protect its borders with the occupied territories.
But Prime Minister Hariri refused this suggestion strongly because he believed that those forces may be the bases for any attack against Syria or Iran in the near future especially after the opinions saying that Syria will be targeted after Iraq. Hariri did not want to be responsible of accepting any foreign forces in the country able to kick out the Syrian army.
Information said that Israel knew about the American project and the White House messenger’s mission. So The Israeli Parliament voted secretly for a resolution that supports those bases in Lebanon. This information was taken by analysts as particular proves for Hariri assassination so they asked to take them into consideration during the investigation of international committees. They also assumed that the USA and Israel planned for the assassination and executed it.
In his story “Lebanon and the American Airbase planned to be established in Koleyat”, published in “Counter Bench” on 30/05/2007, Franklin Lamb insisted that the USA has been working to transmit fear to the Lebanese people from Al Qaida groups by warning them from their appearance in the North of Lebanon and convincing them of the necessity of establishing those bases in this region to face the pretended danger. Suddenly, as coincidence, a terrorist group called “Fateh Al Islam” appeared near Koleyat in Al Bared River Camp, the same place where the American Administration wants to establish its Airbase.
It is important to note that this idea isn’t new. Franklin Lamb insists that Israel had this request long time ago.
On July 14th 1982, the Israeli Trio: Ariel Sharon, Rafael Etan and Danny Yaalone, met Bashir El Jmayyel in the “Le Chef” restaurant in Ashrafieh – Eastern Beirut. During this work lunch Sharon drafted a little piece of paper written on it “last Israeli request” and referring to one of Phalanx security members, it was one word “Koleyat”.
Lamb added that Bashir told them “you will not be disappointed dear friends”. But when he went to his office, he started shouting loudly: “an Israeli Airbase in Lebanon? Those dirty people won’t get any grain of the Koleyat’s sand”. In the same office, Bashir was assassinated, two months later. Later, when the American Administration asked Hariri for the same request, he refused strongly. He had another project, as Franklin Lamb said, which was founding free commercial zone and a port in that region for an amount of one billion dollars.
For the marketing of its illegal project, the American Ministry of Defense tried to mislead the Lebanese public opinion by concentrating on “economic expansion and financial incomes that the local inhabitants, in majority pro-government, will earn due to their Airbase” and the administration the Lebanese government to focus on this side only. It seems that few inhabitants of Bebnin – Akkar (North Lebanon) where impressed by the American propaganda pretending that Airbase will bring prosperity and a lot of job opportunities in construction sector, restaurants, hotels, internet café,… As for the date of launching this project, according to the local inhabitants’ declarations to Franklin, “a military delegation from USA, Germany and Turkey has visited the region and some workers in the American Embassy in Beirut explored Koleyat Airport in the beginning of 2007. The most important visitor was definitely David Welsh. All of them predicted that the execution of this project will be before the end of 2007. Moreover, the most important competitors on this project’s execution are Halliburton Company (owned the Dick Cheeny) and Beetchel Company (strongly related to Bush’s family). In addition to that t Pentagon cooperated with the leadership of NATO to create a nomination for this Airbase which is “training centers for the Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces”. But it is a camouflage to hide the truth that this Base will be dedicated to the quick interference forces as Franklin Lamb insists. He adds that powerful people in the Pentagon and in the Head General staff, supported this project by prodding and intimating from the Israeli activist Eliot Abrahams. Undoubtly, the IPACorganisation will do the demanded role to get the agreement of the congress and its committees. Franklin makes a quotation from Rachel Kohin’s declaration: “we must establish this base as soon as possible, to make the head of spear against Al Qaida and other terrorists”.
Lamb clarifies that Kohin meant in her declaration Hizbolla and when she was asked if the Israeli military people will participate to this training and giving the Lebanese army consultings, she replied that “we will talk about it when it comes. So, it isn’t about Lebanon. The aim is to stop terrorists.”
Most of the Lebanese who spoke to Franklin Lamb know well that the Airbase will be under the Israeli disposition. Those Lebanese are convinced that this Airbase once established; it will lead to dividing the Lebanese people especially these tensioned days.
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