February 13, 2008

YET ASSAD STILL LIVES:

Hezbollah: Top U.S. Target Killed (Anthony Shadid and Alia Ibrahim, 2/13/08, Washington Post)

Imad Mughniyeh, a senior but shadowy Hezbollah commander accused by the United States and Israel of masterminding suicide bombings, hijackings and hostage-taking that spanned 25 years, was killed by a car bomb in the Syrian capital of Damascus, the Shiite Muslim group and other officials said Wednesday.

Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out the attack on Mughniyeh. A spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Mark Regev, said Olmert's office had no comment.

The elusiveness of Mughniyeh, the target of several assassination attempts and kidnappings by the United States and Israel, rivaled only that of Osama bin Laden and stretched over many more years. Until Sept. 11, 2001, the attacks for which the United States blamed him represented some of the deadliest strikes against Americans. Along with bin Laden, he was included on the list of 22 "most wanted terrorists" released by President Bush a month after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 13, 2008 7:46 AM
Comments

What was a Shiastan patriot like Mughniyeh doing in Damascus anyway? I figured a standup guy like him would be with his people, building hospitals and orphanages or somesuch. Maybe he was on holiday?

Posted by: Jim in Chicago at February 13, 2008 11:11 AM

With the moderates taking over day to day governance of places like S. Lebanon and Palestine the extremists fled to Damascus.

Posted by: oj at February 13, 2008 12:36 PM

Assad still lives because he lets Israel and the US do what they need to do. For instance, Assad helped us "interrogate" terrorist suspects.

Posted by: ic at February 13, 2008 3:01 PM

Mossad? CIA (too much to hope for, I know)? Did the Syrians decide he had outlived his usefulness? Or is someone in Iran having thoughts of forcing matters away from the brink in the waning days of the Bush presidency?

By the limited accounts available, it was a relatively small bomb, placed on (under? in?) his car itself. Somebody got very close to do this.

Posted by: Mike Earl at February 13, 2008 3:05 PM

Give the $5 Mil. reward to Israel anyway and suggest they go for another. It could become a cottage industry for them.

Posted by: Genecis at February 13, 2008 4:40 PM

Not the CIA with a car bomb.

Posted by: oj at February 13, 2008 7:43 PM
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