Lebanese soldiers surround the wreckage after a bomb killed Captain Wissam Eid, a high ranking member of the Lebanese Internal Security Force, and three others in a Beirut suburb on Friday January 25, 2008. Twenty other people were injured in the attack. Eid had survived two previous assassination attempts. He was also one of the police force top investigators in charge of terrorism including the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. (UPI Photo)
Rafik Hariri is the subject or is mentioned in the following stories:
Britain Talks Up Syrian Mideast Peace Role
AMMAN -- The landmark visit by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to Syria this week and his comments about the important role Damascus plays in regional peace and stability provides further momentum for a Syrian comeback to the Western fold, perhaps setting the stage for a shift in U.S. policy toward the country in preparation for President-elect Barack Obama to take up office.
It is Clutch Time for Syria
Time is running out for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He will have to decide in the next few weeks whether his overture to the West is genuine or not. To Assads credit a slew of events are pointing to his good faith, but he is still afraid to totally break loose from Irans grip. Whatever decision the Syrian president makes will have a great impact on the region.
Waiting for the Election
The global financial crisis has overshadowed all other issues in the American presidential election campaign that is now in its last weeks. This includes several important Middle Eastern issues that had attracted much attention in the past two years.
Bush May Admire Reagan, But He Emulates Clinton
Upon assuming the office of the nations chief executive eight years ago, U.S. President George W. Bush vowed that he would not fall into the same trap that his predecessor, Bill Clinton allowed himself to get caught in – the never-ending Middle East imbroglio.
Syria Recognizes Lebanon's Sovereignty After 60 Years
MOSCOW -- Syria and Lebanon established diplomatic relations on Oct. 15, some 60 years after gaining independence from France in the mid-1940s. Why have they waited so long?
Upbeat U.N. Report on Lebanon Reflects Geopolitical Changes
AMMAN -- The latest U.N. report on the implementation of a controversial Security Council resolution on Lebanon is being seen as balanced, for the first time since the international decision was passed four years ago, thanks to significant political changes that have swept Lebanon in the past six months.
Syria, Lebanon Launch Historic Ties; Skeptics Advise Caution
AMMAN -- The foreign ministers of Syria and Lebanon formally launched diplomatic ties in a historic move that many hope marks the beginning of a new relationship that sees them as equals. But some observers in Beirut say they need time to fully trust Damascus.
Assad Forges New Ties With Lebanon
AMMAN -- Syrian President Bashar Assad has made his declared intention to establish full diplomatic ties with Lebanon official. He issued a decree that would see embassies in Beirut and Damascus for the first time in their history.
House Cleaning in Damascus?
If there is one country that has been all over the news lately, it is Syria. In fact between President Bashar Assads charm offensive to the West (real or not), Syrian troops amassing near the Lebanese border, a terror attack in Damascus, it seems that today things are shaking up in Syria. But the difficulty of reading into this imbroglio is growing by the day: more players, more incidents, more drama.
Analysis: The Syrian Enigma
Syria has been massing units of its special forces backed by tanks and helicopters along the Lebanese border for the better part of a week; a move that is making the Lebanese very edgy and uneasy about Syrias real intentions.
