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    4 Hezbollah members to be tried in Lebanon killing

    BEIRUT (AP) — The special court investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said Wednesday it will try four Hezbollah members indicted in the case in absentia.

    The Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon did not say when the trial will start.

    Hariri was killed along with 22 others by a suicide truck bomb on Feb. 14, 2005, in one of the most dramatic political assassinations in the Middle East. A billionaire businessman, he was at the time Lebanon's most prominent politician.

    Hezbollah strongly denies the accusations and considers the court a Western tool to strike at the militant group.

    The suspects were indicted last year, but Hezbollah has refused to arrest them and send them for trial at the U.N.-backed tribunal.

    The STL said in a statement the Trial Chamber examined documents from the tribunal's prosecutor and the Lebanese Prosecutor-General. They detail the steps taken by the Lebanese authorities to apprehend the accused.

    The STL's statement said the efforts included multiple attempts by the Lebanese authorities to find the accused at their last known residences, places of employment, family homes and other locations.

    "The Trial Chamber concluded that all reasonable steps have been taken to secure the appearance of the accused and to notify them of the charges against them," the statement said.

    The four suspects include Mustafa Badreddine, a Hezbollah commander who is also the suspected bomb maker for the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut that killed 241 Americans.

    The other suspects are Salim Ayyash, also known as Abu Salim; Assad Sabra and Hassan Oneissi, who changed his name to Hassan Issa.

    The U.N. investigation into the killing of Hariri and the degree to which the Lebanese authorities should cooperate with it has become one of the most divisive issues in Lebanese politics in recent years.

    In November, Hezbollah and its allies, who hold a majority in the Cabinet, were expected to block the funding for the court during a vote, but Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he already had secured Lebanon's $36 million share of funding.

    ___

    Bassem Mroue can be reached on twitter at http://twitter.com/bmroue

     

    18 comments

    • James L  •  Port St Lucie, Florida  •  3 mths ago
      Ah come on,,dead dog issues ,,so far back ,,like arresting Mandela when a bullet could have save south africa from his former wife,,,on let em alone...they gonna kill each others anyway one day...the hate is to the bone !!!!
    • Neil  •  Hallandale, Florida  •  3 mths ago
      Lebanon is amazing. Its as if we had elected Lee Harvey Oswald to run the US after the Kennedy asassination.
    • James  •  3 mths ago
      This is a joke and a waste of time. No one from Hezbollah is getting arrested. It's not going to happen. You can't slap cuffs on someone with a gun to your head.
    • AKHTAL  •  Beirut, Lebanon  •  3 mths ago
      Smell of politics fill the air with every step taken by the special tribunal. I wonder if there is any credible evidence against the 4 men to justify trial. In 2005, Bolton, unable to find evidence against Syria in Hariri murder, said at the top of his voice inside the UN that he was nevertheless sure it was Syria, bashing all American values of fair accusations and right of innocence until proof of guilt. A little earlier, President Bush, faced with the fact that Saddam owned no WMD, smiled to a press conference and asked, but is it not a better world without Saddam? This lack of the usual courtesy in political leaders can only be explained in one fact: They want to indict Hizbullah and Syria whether guilty or not, and for political reasons.
    • Chloe  •  3 mths ago
      Typical PIGSLAMICS - elect terrorists in Gaza, elect terrorists in Lebanon, elect terrorists in Egypt. pigslamics version of democracy is sharia law. you can't fix stupid
    • Vince  •  Wallingford, Connecticut  •  3 mths ago
      Yea, quite the explanation.....Hezbolla says it will not turn over the suspects. Well arrest the leader of Hezbolla, Nasrallah, for obstructing justice.
    • resident  •  3 mths ago
      4 to be tried and its just starting! The Hariri bomb blast will be a firecracker compared to how big the bomb blast is that kills Assad. 6 thousand dead and counting--and thats just the match that lights the fuse to the bomb blast!!!
    • James  •  3 mths ago
      This is a joke no one's getting arrested because no one's going to make the arrest.
    • Rick Wagner  •  Palmdale, California  •  3 mths ago
      This article makes NO mention of Israeli MOSSAD being now the Primary suspect in Hariri's assassination.

      This couldn't be more biased. Experience has shown that these UN Inspectors/investigators are often CIA/MOSSAD assets. And why aren't they investigating Israel's role? I think the Lebanese are wise NOT to trust these "UN Investigators".
    • Rick Wagner  •  Palmdale, California  •  3 mths ago
      All of the Lebanese Christian politicians against Hezbollah are being paid off by Israel just like they were during the 1975-90 civil war. These same Lebanese Christian politicians who are against Hezbollah today were Christian militia leaders during the civil war who were supported militarily and financially by Israel against the Moslems (Lebanese and Palestinian). Not much has changed. They’re still being supported by Israel and the U.S against Moslems (Hezbollah). The goal is to make Lebanon a Christian identity so they can have influence over their politics. The only way to do this is to get rid of Hezbollah.
      This has nothing to do with religion. All it is: Christian Lebanese politicians CAN BE paid off. Moslem Lebanese politicians (Hezbollah) CANNOT be paid off. If they get rid of the ones who cannot be paid off (Hezbollah)….they can control their politics. That’s all it is.
      And for those who tie Hezbollah with Syria and Iran and label them a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is Lebanon. Yes they receive support from both of those countries but they do not represent either of them at all. They represent Lebanon. The only reason for the existence of Hezbollah is to protect Lebanon. But some people don’t want Lebanon protected. That is why we have this mess.
    • Rick Wagner  •  Palmdale, California  •  3 mths ago
      DEATH FROM ABOVE
      There is some evidence indicating that the explosion that killed Hariri detonated under the street directly below his car.

      The crater that resulted suggests that a precision guided aerial bomb struck Hariri's car, passing through it and penetrating into the road - before exploding. This is also indicated by the condition of Hariri's corpse. The lower part of his body was reported to be badly mangled and damaged while his head and torso were recognizable.

      "If a penetrator weapon was used," Holsapple said, "the weight would be on the order of 1 ton, to within a factor of two." A penetrator weapon is an aerial bomb, such as a bunker-buster type, which is a guided weapon that is designed to penetrate the surface before exploding.

      On an information webpage entitled, "Bombs for Beginners," the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) explains how aerial bombs create craters: "The cratering effect is normally achieved by using a GP [general purpose] bomb with a delayed fuzing system. This system allows bomb penetration before the explosion. Since the explosion occurs within the surface media the energy of the blast causes the formation of a crater," it says.

      A 1-ton penetrating bomb, silent and unseen, would explain the huge crater and the fact that there is no evidence of a truck bomb attacking Hariri's motorcade.

      Sam Hamod, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs, wrote, "We must do as they do in other criminal cases, look at who had the most to gain from the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri. The Lebanese had a lot to lose, as did the Syrians.

      "No matter where else you look, no one else had anything to gain except Israel and the U.S.," Hamod wrote. "America quickly pointed the finger at Syria, as did Israel, which was tantamount to convicting themselves because they are the only two countries that would gain by creating unrest in Lebanon."
    • Rick Wagner  •  Palmdale, California  •  3 mths ago
      The U.S. media is indulging in war mongering "yellow journalism" by repeating baseless allegations that Syria or Hezbollah is behind the "car bombing" of a popular Lebanese nationalist, while the evidence suggests that the assassination was carried out using a guided missile launched from a plane - a precision penetration bomb - a "targeted killing" technique perfected by Israel.
    • Rick Wagner  •  Palmdale, California  •  3 mths ago
      n December 1988, infuriated Defense Intelligence agents issued a formal protest, exposing CIA complicity in Middle East heroin trafficking. When teams from both agencies got summoned back to Washington to attend an internal hearing, they boarded Pan Am 103. A wing of militant Hezbollah led by Ahmed Jibril, his nephew Abu Elias, Abu Talb and Abu Nidal took out both teams in order to protect their lucrative cartel.
      Classified Defense Intelligence records show that Jibril and Talb had been toying with a conspiracy to bomb a U.S. airplane during the 1988 Christmas holidays anyway. They planned to bomb a U.S. airliner in revenge for the U.S.S. Vincennes, which shot down an Iranian commercial airliner loaded with Hajiis returning from Mecca in July, 1988. However the Defense Intelligence threat to expose their heroin network put the bombing plan into action. Islamic Jihad’s ability to discover actionable intelligence on the flight schedules would definitely confirm that somebody at CIA was operating as a double agent, keeping Islamic Jihad a step ahead of the rescue efforts.
      That’s the dirty truth about Lockerbie. It ain’t nothing like you’ve been told.
      Wait a darn moment—I anticipate your confusion. Libya got blamed for the Lockerbie attack. Daddy George Bush told us so! The United Nations imposed sanctions on Libya, demanding that Colonel Moammar Gadhaffi hand over two Libyans for trial. One of the two, Lameen Fhima got acquitted immediately. The other Abdelbasset Megrahi got convicted (on the most flimsy circumstantial evidence that overlooked endless contradictions). Libya paid $2.7 billion in damages—amounting to $10 million per family death— to make the U.N. sanctions go away, and expressed a sort of non-apology for the deaths—while never acknowledging its involvement in the conspiracy.
      So Libya was innocent the whole time? In a word, yes. Susan Lindauer, Veterans Today
    • Rick Wagner  •  Palmdale, California  •  3 mths ago
      "Out of Chaos, Order" That is what is happening now from the Dark Banksters . 65 years of Israel-First Foreign Policy is a complete disaster like Under Secretary of State George Ball warned us about in detail in his book.

      The CIA/MOSSAD's cover is blown , hence wikileaks to further spread disinformation and confusion. Notice how it's hard to determine who are the "good guys"? This is all intentional to shake things up because otherwise Israel is going down very fast. Especially since the Rafik Hariri assassination was exposed to be MOSSAD/CIA and before that Pan Am 103 and Abu Nidal outed as MOSSAD operations/operatives all along. Listening to CNN, you wouldn't know that Gadaffi was a protege of CIA Director Richard Helms. In January of 2011, he made a very public speech in which he declared that he was no longer playing the old MOSSAD/CIA game. I am no big fan of his, but he was deposed in order to silence him. He knew "too much" about the Bush/Clinton Crime families.

      They are counting on the American sheeple staying clueless and asleep. That is NOT working well for the Dark Forces either.
    • Rick Wagner  •  Palmdale, California  •  3 mths ago
      It is funny to see some "smart" people make fun of conspiracy theories and ask for "proof", while they never asked for any proof on everything that the mainstream propaganda tells them. They will believe everything the mainstream media tell them in a heartbeat without proof, and will fight for their "own" belief(which based on nothing but words) implanted by the mainstream propaganda producers, then ask for "proof" when someone question it. What double standard...or is it just dumb?
    • Rick Wagner  •  Palmdale, California  •  3 mths ago
      I do have one good story to tell about the marines. A buddy of mine, Mike Hanson, was at the airport in West Beirut in ’83, near where Arafat and his men were holed up. A half-dozen Israeli tanks came rolling up to wipe them out. The marines just looked at them but the captain in charge of the airport detail climbed up on the lead tank and held the muzzle of his .45 against the Jew commander’s head. “If this tank moves another foot, your brains are gonna be all over this tank.” Jew commander ordered everyone to leave. This is the only language Jews understand. The upshot was, a truck bomb soon killed over 240 marines nearby. Victor Ostravsky, a Mossad officer, revealed that the Mossad knew about the plot but deliberately withheld the information. Translation: the bombing of the marine barracks was a Mossad operation, probably in retaliation for the marine captain’s heroism. Mike bunked in the open and escaped the blast at the barracks. He carried out a lot of bodies.

      But that captain was the exception that proves the rule: the US military man is always obeying Jewish orders. So, the only way for a US military man to gain his honor is to join with this DAJA program – Defense Against Jewish Aggression. It’s the only way to gain honor. You can’t regain something you never had. You joined up to fight, didn’t you? Against all enemies, foreign and domestic? The only foreign enemies we have are in Israel. You don’t need to mess with them. The real enemy is domestic, the Jew who sends you to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran to kill people who never threatened us but who are hated by Jews. We have to clean up this country by wiping out the Jewish organization. Once the organization is wiped out, the Federal Reserve and its stinking Note can be wiped out and replaced by the debt-free US Note.

      And that’s how we’re going to clean up this Jewish mess.JB Campbell, Veterans Today
    • Rick Wagner  •  Palmdale, California  •  3 mths ago
      WHAT CAR BOMB?
      The bombing of Hariri's motorcade occurred in broad daylight in an exclusive section of Beirut's waterfront known as the Corniche. There are, however, no eyewitness reports or physical evidence to substantiate the claim that a suicide car bomber attacked Hariri's car.

      Based on the size of the crater, estimated to be 30-50 feet across and 9-10 feet deep, an expert told American Free Press that the car bomb would have had to have been several tons in size, not the reported "650 pounds of dynamite."

      The crater also shows that a ruptured water pipeline, dirt, and rubble were thrown up and out from the center of the crater, suggesting that the actual detonation occurred at some depth below the surface of the street.

      Keith A. Holsapple, an expert on craters and professor of engineering mechanics at the University of Washington, examined the photographs of the Beirut crater for AFP. "There is no doubt," Holsapple said, "at least a several ton bomb would be required if it were delivered by a vehicle and detonated above the surface."

      "A 50-foot crater in a wet soil would require on the order of 6 tons of ANFO (ammonium nitrate fuel oil) if the explosion were just above the surface," Holsapple said. "If the bomb was detonated just below the surface, that bomb weight is reduced to about 2 tons, and if a penetrator weapon was used, the weight would be on the order of 1 ton, to within a factor of two." A larger bomb would be required if the soil was "essentially dry at depths at the time of the event," he added.

      But there is no evidence that a large vehicle carrying tons of explosives smashed into Hariri's vehicle and it is highly improbable that someone buried two tons of explosives under the street hoping that Rafik Hariri would drive by. So where was the bomb?
    • FIGHTER FOR DEMOCRACY  •  Angeles City, Philippines  •  3 mths ago
      TOUGH JUSTICE SYSTEM AGAINST HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST!
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