Prominent anti-Syrian Christian politician Pierre Gemayel was shot point blank in his car. Watch the events in lebanon folks. This is a huge event. Looks like syria wants civil war in lebanon. Feelings are now at a boiling point.
They'll undoubtedly be some major reprisals for this assassination given the tense situations there. I can't find any news on the event anywhere, where did you find it?
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=77064 Clearing out the opposition.
Syria involved? This looks to be very proffessional. Since the other assasinations, they always appear very suspicious to me.
Cutting edge it was on yahoo news but not there anymore. This has syrian fingerprints all over it.pierre gemeyal was a big critique against the puppet government of lahoud whos days are nearly coming to an end. This was also right after hezbolla threatened to walk out of parliament. After 30 years of civil war th elebanese finally want peace between each other but now its too late because u have hezbolla(the iranian proxy ) and syria causing major trouble in the region. They have the guts to do this now because we are stretched thin in a sensless war in iraq. The muslims and christians are all united except for iran's puppet hezbolla. Its incredible to watch his dad on tv trying to talk to the people to calm them down and asking them to pray for peace when his son was just assasinated by these people. A class act he is.
I have an odd feeling that we're seeing something that could get incredibly huge. Maybe their leaders, like the son, have a chance to stop that. What balls to pray for peace, when your own father is murdered. It would be nice if that was even more common of the leadership around that region.
This is big news the Maronites will go ballistic at this, turning the clock back, expect to see the 'green line' re-established very quickly This will escalate for sure the political firestorm against western backed governments in the region Rafik Hariri and Gibran Tueni now Pierre Gemayel all thanks to the Syrians and Hezbollah scum Saad Hariri is being backed into a corner all this at the same time as diplomatic relations have been restored between Iraq & Syria A very sad day for me as I lived in Beirut for 3 years, the Middle East is spiralling rapidly into uncontrolled chaos, all very disturbing and the impact will not be localized New Update Leaders condemn Lebanese minister's slaying http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/21/lebanon.minister.reut/index.html Expect news all day on this story
Yea it is sad british guy, i was there 4 times in my life on trips and the people from my moms church go there every year usually. There is no chance for it not to escalate. What can the people of lebanon that believe in peace do when u have syria on one side and hezbolla inside your country operating like a state within a state. This is heading for civil war as it suits syria best if lebanon is destabalized. Rick there is zero chance for peace no matter how much all peace loving people want it to be. If hezbolla were armed we would have a chance. British guy your right about the maronites, pierre gemeyal had huge pull in lebanon being the grandson of the original founder pierre gemeyal. Syria needs war in lebanon now to keep attention away from the international court investigation into harirris death and iran needs war in lebanon to take world attention away from its nuclear program. It seemed like gemeyal was coming from church when 2 cars rammed into his car(one from the front and one from behind), the gunman then casually got out of his car and shot more than a dozen bullets from his silencer into gemeyal and his body guard. What i want to know is why were they driving in a kia fro heavens sake . No protection at all. Im hearing now that if 2 more people are liquidated that the government will have to be dissolved by law. (not sure if this is correct or not so i will research this when i get over my flu lol)
Internal peace is essential for any nation.The possibilities of a civil war has to be avoided at any coast.
Anti-Syrian Druze leader Walid Jumblatt on Wednesday blamed Syria for the assassination of Lebanon's transport minister and said he expected more such killings aimed at undermining parliament's ruling majority. "We have to expect, and this is my impression unfortunately, more assassinations of ministers and parliamentarians," Jumblatt told a news conference. Lebanese Minister Pierre Gemayel, a member of the ruling bloc, was shot dead on Tuesday. "It seems the Syrian regime will continue with the assassinations. I expect more assassinations but no matter what they do, we are here and we will be victorious," he said. Jumblatt said Syria was trying to derail an international court to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. He reiterated his accusation that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had ordered the assassinations of Hariri and other anti-Syrian politicians over the past two years. "Let the ruler of Damascus know that no matter how many he murders, every assassination or attempted assassination is a nail in the coffin of the Syrian regime," he said. "He (Assad) will not be able to shake the will of the Lebanese to live freely and in dignity." http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/art...NON-JUMBLATT.xml&WTmodLoc=World-C1-Headline-8 -------------------------------------------- Multi-lingual articulate the Druze Warlord Walid Jumblatt has been involved in the violent Lebanese political maelstrom for decades Iron willed and ruthless in exercising private revenge, while publicly calling for calm and no violence He will be seething inside with anger and resolve. ------------------------------------------------------ Jumblatt has gone through several incarnations in recent months, as Lebanon seeks to break free from 29 years of hegemony imposed by Syria, following the Syrian military withdrawal from the country last April. He initially led opposition to the Syrians after the killing of Rafik Hariri on February 14, but Jumblatt was also instrumental in later cutting a deal with two pro-Syrian Shiite groups, Hezbollah and Amal, to protect their quota in parliamentary elections during the summer. This about-face earned him the hostility of many Christians, who felt the deal was directed against them. That is, until Jumblatt's latest turnaround, where he broke with Hezbollah, accusing it of supporting Syrian aims in Lebanon. This followed the assassination last month of journalist and parliamentarian Gebran Tueni, where it became clear to Jumblatt that no understanding was possible with the Syrian regime—though he might conceivably have considered a good one had it been offered Jumblatt's binoculars perpetually sweep the region's political horizon to see what distant tremor might threaten his tiny 200,000-strong community—and his authority over it. This makes the Druze leader an insightful interpreter of the fluctuations in Middle Eastern politics—particularly issues of interest to the United States, such as Iranian-Syrian relations, Saudi-Egyptian maneuverings to save the Syrian regime, and the future of Hezbollah http://www.reason.com/news/show/34152.html ------------------------------------------------- If the government collapses the warlords will de-camp to their cantons which will be heavily guarded by their own militias Then the civil war will start up again The Baker/Hamilton Commission will have a lot on its plate sorting this lot out, not least it will mean having to have direct talks with Assad Complicated harrowing days are the norm and the future looks grim
My mom was watching the lebanese news station and she said that he had 2 body guards with him and one of them survived. This could really get interesting here folks. Mom just also told me that the gunmen werent masked? They just have to be the dumbest gunmen on earth lol
The funeral of Pierre Gemayel took place at St George Maronite Cathedral in Martyrs Square in Beirut in front of ten of thousands of Anti-Syrian mourners and protesters Among prominent politicians in attendance were Amin Gemayel father former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora present Prime Minister Samir Geagea is the formerly imprisoned leader of the Lebanese ... he became an active member of the right-wing Phalangist Party Saad Hariri, son of Lebanon's assassinated former PM Rafik Emile Lahoud, Lebanon's President a Maronite Christian widely seen as a Syrian puppet Walid Jumblatt is the leader of Lebanon's most powerful Druze clan and heir to a leftist political dynasty based around the Progressive Socialist Party on Syria's asassination hit list Jumblatt accused Syria of ordering the murder of Gemayel and warned that more Lebanese politicians could be targeted in the near future. Nabih Berry Pro-Syrian Speaker of the house Plus many more political friends and foes In a funeral service fueled in anger and grief, a massive Anti-Syrian crowd assembled outside with boos for the Pro-Syrian politicians and cheers for the pro-Christian Anti-Syrian politicians Following the end of the funeral the body of Pierre Gemayel will be returned to Bikfaya his family's ancestral home for 400 years Police say over 200,000 people were in the crowd Walid Jumblatt dynamic orator gave a speech after the funeral which fueled the crowd into a frenzy of Anti-Syrian hatred 'Pierre Gemayel was a martyr for justice' Followed by a speech by Saad Hariri ranked 158 among The World's Richest People In 2006 'We are the truth.........we are the freedom' 'Hezbollah is not the majority' Samir Geagea 'This government is our government' 'History will not forgive them' Amin Gemayel 'Change and reform will continue towards to democracy and anything less is forgery' Fractional divisive end to a day which will surely fuel a Hezbollah and Syrian retort
Nice info Britishguy. I just dont see how they can get freedom now unless the new government is supplied with arms and intelligence training because there are tons of syrian intelligence people on the ground in lebanon and can orchestrate assasinations at will anytime they want and hisbolla is yet another problem that wont go away. All of lebanon is now with the coalition government and unfortunately has to deal with hisbolla militarily. I am so against war but can anyone give me another alternative here?
This is an absolutely tragic and deeply upsetting event. I can you tell from being a Maronite myself, that this has sent shock waves throughout the Maronite community, and has ignited some sort of rage... And this is merely in Australia! I can assure you that the feelings are much more substantial over in Lebanon, and that the death of Pierre Gemayel is not being taken lightly. There is actually a suspicion/rumor that the Christians were responsible for this, and that there was no Syrian involvement, however I wouldn't really take much notice of that. From personal opinion, this has Syria's fingerprints all over it. The Christian Lebanese population especially, are being continuously pushed, either by Hezbollah or Syria, and have been denied their freedom and rights for decades, and a new outbreak of civil war is definately on the cards, however I very much doubt civil war will erupt over this. It will take some more pushes and shoves before a reaction will be ignited. Sadly, this is not the first assassination, and it will definitely not be the last.
Jkhoury, for all the aounists( i used to believe in aoun myself) and other pro hezbolla people thinking that this is a christian conspiracy from gagea and the others this is physically impossible because first of all why would the pro syrian president lahoud not want this investigation and 2nd there are syrian intelligence agents all over lebanon and especially at or close to beirut who would have loved to have their hands on evidence pointing the finger of blame all over the christians. No this is purely syria here. They are desperately trying to do anything they can to get the opposition to dissolve. Civil war is just around the corner. God help them. The christian lebanese arent the only ones being pushed this time. The christians, the druuze, the sunnis all want peace in lebanon and have finally learned to live together in peace. Notice that not one hezbolla politician is being targetted. Things that make ya go hmmmmmmmm
Rumors of the christian lebanese forces army being armed being passed around the different boards. Civil war is getting closer in lebanon, i just dont see how it can be avoided but i dont see how any party or group even if its all the lebanese put together can go against hezbolla's 30,000 rockets and well trained militia. I wonder if isreal will provide logistics to the opposition(christians, druze, sunni) or else this will turn into a bloodbath
This is definately still escolating and an extremely volatile situation, which is just about ready to pop. A war of some type is unavoidable, and I have heard of the rumors that have surfaced about the Lebanese Forces re-arming themselves, however I'm not too sure about the validness of those claims - you wouldn't blame them though. I mean, take a look at Hezbollah (that name is really beginning to annoy me - been surfacing alot lately).. Not only are they heavily armed, well trained, but they have the backing of Syria and Iran and have a well known tendency for getting violent quickly. It'd be nice if Israel could provide logistics and even out the fight - maybe even join the fight as it'd be in there best interest to demolish Hezbollah. The fact is, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, and anyone who supports there cause can rightfully be labeled a terrorist, or at the very least, a supporter of terrorism. The soon they're crushed and removed from Lebanon, the sooner the country can begin it's rebuilding phase. They solely consider the interest of their people and followers, and completely disregard well-being of the rest of country. I remember during the July war, two ladies had organized a partition to get Hezbollah removed off the terrorist group list around here, and the fact that one of those ladies was not of Lebanese heritage (I don't think it's important to mention where she's from) really annoyed me. She was obviously extremely ill-informed, and was convinced that Hezbollah represented Lebanon. I didn't even bother...
Hezbolla Is a state within a state. They didnt follow the taiff agreement which called fro all private militias to disband and they arent cooperting with the lebanese government now. Im 100% sure that sireal will not allow hezbolla to be the dominate force in lebanon but it will be one hell of a bloodbath anyway we put it. Its a shame that my relatives who lived through the first civil war have to also live through another one. I just cant believe that general aoun would side on hezbollas side. I mean he was trained by the american military in america and he opposed syria before. What the heck happened to him?
Friday December 1st 2006 Beirut General Michel Aoun the christian turncoat who has now formed an alliance with the muslim shiites and Hezbollah speaks in front of over 200,000 crowd to ask for the overthrow of the western backed Siniora government Divisive times asking for the government to resign I see this as another regretable step towards the start of another civil war in Lebanon and the disturbing factor is that with both Bush and Blair et al lacking the knowledge and intellect to do anything to stop this crisis irretrievably breaking down the Hezbollah and the pro-Syrian factions are likely to prevail and topple the Siniora government Tug of War for government control is now in full flow with the chasm widening between the opposing sectors
Have you guys watched Glenn Beck's special on Islam .... there is a lot more like that to come. We ain't seen nothing yet.