Lebanese army general killed as Assad regime claims invincibility in Lebanon

A Lebanese army general tipped to succeed Suleiman as army commander was brutally killed in a car bomb attack today in Baabda. The attack comes less than a day after the Syrian vice president boasted that "no one can win the battle against Syria in Lebanon", and exactly one year after March 14 MP Gebran Tueni's assassination.

According to Naharnet, Brig. Gen. Francois el-Hajj was "the chief of military operations of the Lebanese armed forces and a key figure in the army's victory over Fatah al-Islam terrorists in a 15-week battle earlier this year."

Michel Aoun held the Lebanese government responsible, even though he does not officially recognize it. LF leader Samir Geagea said the assassination could be a sign that  "some" are not happy with  March 14's nomination of Suleiman. Jumblatt said he was "optimistic" despite the assassination, and called for the "dialogue" with Berri to continue.

Comments

[Super Dude]

I open the internet looking for this headline and I find it. I was not sure who was going to get killed but I was certain someone was going to get killed this week.

Too easy. They have become so predictable, it is beyond pathetic they can still get away with it.

[aboujahl]

friends, countrymen, countrywomen, this is the hour of truth, the our of partition, you cannot bye the former one-Lebanon back. You should get out of the box; perhaps only this route will bring peace to our country.

[danny]

A shot accross the bow!!!

[Louis-Noel Harfouche]

a warning against what/whom, danny?
aboujahl, partition and/or a federal system was never off the table. It is more of a possibility today, but the unitary state has been dead since 1975 anyway!

[Louis-Noel Harfouche]

a warning against what/whom, danny?
aboujahl, partition and/or a federal system was never off the table. It is more of a possibility today, but the unitary state has been dead since 1975 anyway!

[V]

After being the leading figure and the bulldog of M 14 against the Assad regime and their Lebanese puppets.. Mercury Man Jumblat has turned to the role of peace maker and wants to keep negotiating with the “Parliament Nazi” ( No parliament for youuu!!)
Who are we going to count on now is it prety boy Saad or his endless supply of hair gel for making things less painful...
I hope they all go to hell they gave us hope and turned out to be a bunch of clueless cowards. I honestly now at least appreciate the steadfastness of the other side although it is misplaced.

[LebExile]

V. It's not steadfastness on the part of the other side... it's cowadice - they are in over their heads just as much as the other side... do this or get killed ... do that or get killed... it's no way to run a country...

the march 14 have similar orders...don't do this or get killed... don't do that or get killed....

who is the coward in this case... those too frightened not to follow orders or those brave enough to fight for their country...

take Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for example... he has been safely hidden away in a RAT HOLE somewhere for over a year...

while which side had endured most of the killings???

[Bad Vilbel]

So, this Hajj fellow was slated to succeed Suleiman as army chief? This is news to me. Is this confirmed or just conjecture? I read elsewhere something about Some General Khoury being slated for that post.

No matter. Sad state of affairs. And all too predictable, as we all knew.

Michel Aoun needs to shut the F*** up! He blames the government (which he doesn't recognize) every time someone farts sideways. Last, I check, idiot, you blame the people who actually commit the crime (i.e. the car bomb). And I'm PRETTY sure it wasn't the government. Seriously. Why does this guy still have a following? Are people this retarded? (Don't answer that last question!)

[Abou Mario]

Until Lebanon will not get rid of Nassrallah and the Hizbullah, that are the agents for Assad and Sirya, Lebanon will not be free. It is not only Hariri, and what about Gemayel? and all the other thousands of Christian that were killed or had to flee from the Country? We probably need a new Sabrah and Chatilla to teach them a lesson.

[Andre]

This is a blatant warning to Suleiman for his warming up to M14. Everyone knows he is the incoming president and the "killers" are reminding him of who's boss. Intimidation has become the name of the game in this brutal tug of war and it proves that no one is safe! The army is the only institution that has stayed outside the political mess and continues to preserve the unity of the country...now that institution is being targeted and it is also a reminder of how dangerous things are getting. Unless the political leaders on all sides come back to their senses, things will get worse.

[Battal_Agha]

Sad and frustrating. Sad to see that we continue to passively accept this state of affair and frustrating at our leaders whose only blablabla is, let's continue to talk with the opposition. Hello, wake up! You talk, they act (kill). Come on, when will you realize that the time has come to elect a president the democratic way i.e. 50+1. The opposition is threatening us with Civil war? Hey, no one wants civil war. Not the lebanese anyway. Let's call their bluff. Stop the Blablabla....

[AK]

Abou Mario, not on this blog. Take your Sabra and Shatila filth of a threat somewhere else.

[Lover]

Gen. Al Hajj was known to FLC as a low profile, professional, exemplary and disciplined officer. On the wake of the January 23, '07 demonstrations, the World Council of the Cedar Revolution issued a plea asking that Gen. El Hajj and his officers be brought before a world tribunal and listed as "terror supporters." Al Hajj, fought the Lebanese Forces under the command of Michel Aoun, and was among the critics of Gea'gea's visit to Michel Sleiman in Yarzeh. He is the same General Al Hajj who answered M14's allegations of borders porosity, that the "the Lebanese Army is properly controlling its borders with Syria", obviously, not a man after M14ers' hearts!

So I have no idea what people like yourself are talking about. I have ABSOLUTELY no idea why GaeGae is talking at all.

I think this is the beginning of the Palestinian revenge killing against the army for what they did to their Nahar Al Bared refugee camp. Or the elimination process of the Future Bloc's militia to place a pro-M14 cammander-in-chief in return for Suleimans candidacy. It will comeup somewhere, sometime, somehow.

[Lover]

"We probably need a new Sabrah and Chatilla to teach them a lesson." - Abou Ayro

Nice. Now I know what kind of people the Opposition are up against. Im just waiting for the next elections to shout 'good riddance' when your lot are voted out.

[anon]

Can you smell the stink !

Romeo is back....

[Suha]

Abou Mario,

How is Qatar treating you?

[Bad Vilbel]

In case you haven't noticed, Lover, every one of us here does not approve of Abou Mario's hateful and idiotic comment. There are ignorant idiots on all sides. That's not new. For the record, your comments don't see that much more enlightened than his.

I figured you or someone like you would show up here and blame the assassination on March 14. They must have a command & control center at the hotel Phoenicia, from which they're calling these assassinations. Hah.

I don't think it matters to the REAL perpetrators (Syrians or pro-Syrian terrorists) whether Hajj was pro-Aoun or pro-M14. The man was clearly a patriot with his loyalty to the army and THAT is probably what got him killed. If you SERIOUSLY think he was killed because march 14 doesn't like him...you have to wonder howcome these devious M14 guys haven't managed to get Aoun or Nassrallah or any of the other people they don't like. Somehow, they only manage to assassinate their own guys. Hah.

[Suha]

I was waiting to see how y'all will spin this one out as "Syria did it". Fabulous job!

Seriously now: why on earth are you people convinced that the only party capable of murder in Lebanon is Syria? Hell, we did a heck of a job for 15+ years! With or without "outside interference".

[Umm K.]

I'd appreciate if we weren't all grouped together because of one comment. I personally find Sabra and Shatila a horrible crime and I find people like you, LOVER, who generalize about all of those comments, just as idiotic as that comment.

Suha--of course Lebanese are capable of crimes...by why dismiss Syria too? I find their comments about Lebanon over the past few days very interesting--do you not?

[Bad Vilbel]

Suha,

I don't discount the ability of Lebanese to kill Lebanese. I lived through the civil war, and continue to see us Lebanese, killing each other, to this day, one way or another, through complete stupidity.

But I am also a rational, logical man. When the motives and evidence constantly point in the same direction, it's foolish (or dishonest) to ignore them and continue living in a fantasy world. I'm sure you have some bizarre and convoluted conspiracy theory that explains why March 14 would want to kill their own MPs, weaken their own majority in parliament, just to blame it on Syria, but I prefer to go for the simple and logical explanation, until proven otherwise.

I'd love to see some of you Sherlock Holmes types actually work in law enforcement someday. You'd be the type to let murderers go, even when they're caught red handed, with DNA evidence at the scene of the crime. And you'd be accusing the family of the victim of killing their own daughter and planting the evidence, just to spite some other guy.

[Bad Vilbel]

Oh, by the way, is it time for martial law yet?
I've been clamoring for that for well over a year now. At this point, I really don't see Lebanon benefiting in any way from being left in the hands of the politicians. Since Suleiman is going to be prez anyway, let's go for the old school military coup, impose martial law, and start cleaning up the country top to bottom.

[Lover]

Bad Vilbel (what does your name ever mean?)

You see, you have a problem in reading peoples comments. Could you please copy paste the part where I blamed M14? What my point was that this guy was not freindly to M14 and their ideas, therefore it would be really really stupid to blame him.

He was someone who was proud to work by the resistance, he was very close to 'Oun and he was not pro nor anti Syrian. No-one had a problem with him before except the Christian militias of the civil war, and today's M14 crew. It really shows how they start to resemble each other.

Your argument is really retarded and it reeeeeeeeeeeks of crap. He was a patriot, Yes. But the World Council of the Cedar Revolution still thought it was a good idea to get him into an international tribunal under charges of condoning terror and terrorists. It really really shows who wanted to get rid of him and who didn't.

BUT. This does not mean M14 is sitting somewhere commanding his death. What it does mean is certain factions whithin M14 may be taking matters into their own hands. Some leaders of NGO's in Lebanon with LF backgrounds realy stand out in their neo-ubsurd policies and way of thought.

Then you can look at it in a different light. You can examine the fact that he lead a war in a Palestinian camp and destroyed it! AHHH revenge. Then there is another. How about the fact that prior to May 2000, the SLA tried killing him twice because he and Hezbollah officials were responsible for creating the Serail Brigades - you know that military arm in Hezbollah which is not faith-orientated?

What else. My logic does not reek. Yours does. Is there some kind of meter to measure patriotism. You lot might think you are patriots, but you are scumbag if you don't support military resistance just because you might miss another tan. Sometimes, 'political resistance' might be something which takes way too long and is way too slow. For some reason, some people think others may look at us as 'aaah typical ARABS' or consider us 'close-minded' or 'fanatic' or whatever just because we chose to resist with arms. I mean last time i checked or constitution allows us to kill each other if we feel we are unrepresented - yet I really don't see Hezbollah picking up it's weapons and killing you guys (but I do see Future Militia's killing Arab Uni students sympathetic to the opposition) - so it would be really far-fetched to condemn a resistance trying to do what is instinstic and natural of any people to do.

We, as Lebanese, have huge stature and are admired by masses and masses for having both incredible and historic democracy under any circumstance and a powerful resistance which adheres to islamic law! It's fantastic. Just the phenomenon of these two factors side-by-side unrederred or touched infers alot.

Anyway, I do realise i'm dragging on. The bloody point is you can not automatically blame Syria. I mean you guys might as well cap it off from now and announce anyhow an opposition member dies, it is Syria because he or she didn't follow orders. Now THEN does it get out of control.

To UMM K (Mr garrison?)

I am not generalising about anyone. It is called criticism because that's the way I see it - I don't think Kataeb or LF would condemn what they did, or even admit it was a massacre. Now they are an integral bloc in M14. Rationally speaking, condemning them would be to condemn M14, because they are both part of it - get the drift.

I don't know why you are attacking me on this, because I'm really sure the blogger on this blog was criticising M14, the same side he follows, a couple of days ago - so was the blogger of beirut springs and others. What makes me restricted and 'generalising' and not them?

THANX

[Lover]

PS all of those who have a problem with my approach or way of thinking, I recieved my first report from my University today, let quote some stuff:

"Ahmed maintains an impressive record, recieving his first GCSE certificate at the age of just 12, in which he got an A"

"Ahmed arrived in the UK in 1998...nevertheless, he recieved an A for English Literature"

"I think he would make a fine manager indeed"

"an extremely talented student who has the rare ability to be self suffiecient and motivated"

"His ideas are creative and often unconventional as he treads the path other students would not risk"

"Ahmed has utilised his outstanding knowledge of Middle Eastern affairs to good effect"

"Ahmed has proven himself to be a thoughtful, independent individual...he has an innate inquisitiveness which impels him always to go beyond the subject"

"making salient contributions...curiosity enables him to apply economic theory to any situation...he is articulate in both writtena nd oral work"

"Ahmed is a valued member of my tutor group"

"He is an incredibly open minded individual, which is a rare quality for a student his age" (19)

"I am absolutely certain that he will be a credit to this university"

" I feel that Ahmed would be suited to the demands of a managerial career, where...creativity is the key to success"

Yeeee yeeeeee I know im boasting abou it! But I'm a bit happy today (not because francois is dead). I got a really got report and now you lot kind of know me better for who I am. Woo. Feel free to comment, but keep your insults to yourself - don't be selfish and ruin it for me :D

[Umm K.]

Lover, I find your mocking of my name, Umm Kais, not funny. I don't think Abu Kais appreciates it either. Second, your grades and comments from teachers mean jack shit in the real world. We all did well in school. Time to get off your high horse.

As for "generalizing" as you did before, this is very dangerous in the Lebanese world and it is not appreciated. It's not always "us" and "them" in Lebanon, and seeing as you're so brilliant, I thought you'd be above that.

[Lover]

Sorry Umm Kais, I didn't know that was an abreviation, I really thought you were someone trying to immitate Mr Garrison from south park, how would I know otherwise.

To add to what I said, I went back to this blogs archives, back to September 19 (my birthdate, and the day Antoine ghanem died), where I wrote the following:

"Go back to news archives and look at the events that took place before every single assasination. You will realise that in every case, the Lebanese drew nearer to a solution. A bomb goes off, spews hatred and sectarianism...Then we're back to square one."

This is becoming truer and truer day in and day outWith every assasination, we get so close to agreeing, then someone fucks it all up. I can tell you right now that people are not happy in the living conditions of the tent city, especially since it is raining alot these days.

PS unless we realise this, and don't let them get in the way of our political 'progress', then we're fucked.

[danny]

Romeo,

Shut up. Your inane comments are stupid and not worthy of an answer. As mentioned above the stink of your diapers and comments precedes you.
Warning was for Sleiman...Next time he visits DSG he might be offed by brave HA soldiers disguised as lebanese patriots!
BV...Yes ALL AOUNIES have drunk from the same cool aid. Also, I think they had buried the nuclear waste at Rabieh. That explains the orangettes’ behaviour!! Maybe that’s where “agent orange” comes from

[danny]

Romeo,

Shut up. Your inane comments are stupid and not worthy of an answer. As mentioned above the stink of your diapers and comments precedes you.
Warning was for Sleiman...Next time he visits DSG he might be offed by brave HA soldiers disguised as lebanese patriots!
BV...Yes ALL AOUNIES have drunk from the same cool aid. Also, I think they had buried the nuclear waste at Rabieh. That explains the orangettes’ behaviour!! Maybe that’s where “agent orange” comes from

[AK]

"Lover", I don't care about your report card. People don't grow up or mature in classrooms. That said, you're overstaying your welcome.

[Bad Vilbel]

I'm not even going to bother responding...

[JAS]

Lover:

How many of your British teachers have read your blog contributions at MJT and elsewhere? Reality check needed in the United Kingdom--much of their media reads more like tabloid material than factual news.

[Suha]

BV,

Did I insult you or anyone in order for your to respond to me mockingly? It is definitely your problem if you cannot handle differences in opinion or read comments properly. And no, my "Sherlock Holmes" ideas do not include conspiracy theories. In fact, they include a lot of question marks, of which you apparently have none. You know it all. Bravo, walla! Nothing to discuss then. Have a nice day.

[Suha]

"Suha--of course Lebanese are capable of crimes...by why dismiss Syria too? I find their comments about Lebanon over the past few days very interesting--do you not?"

Umm Kais,

I certainly do not dismiss Syria and certainly not when it comes to Hariri's assassination. But there are a few assassinations (like Hawi and Hajj) that stick out oddly for me and I do not want to force everything into one simplistic framework. During the civil war, local, regional and international motives blended into one incoherent mess. Why would it be any different now? None of the other players are exactly clean.

[Lover]

Sheesh, you guys, such dickheads :D

But still, the smell of jealousy is always satisfying. Believe me you, the guy who wrote my report has a blog of his own...and i'm always on it criticising everything he says whether right or wrong.

What the hell is the point of going to a blog - which in essence is a debate forum - to nod your head and agree to everything being said.

I do go on other forums and blogs who have different viewpoints and criticise them. That is the only way we have moderates, and not sabra and chatila advocates - the type this blog seems to attract.

[JAS]

Lover:

Political information has a named or else unnamed individual as its source. Claims are only as balanced (mentally) as the source. My rule: The fewer the named names found in a news report, the less the credibility points. Lunatics are as prevalent as cockroaches.

Are you now saying that your “report card” is from a single unnamed source?

Laughable that you would refer to yourself as a “moderate”!

[Bad Vilbel]

Suha,

My intelligence is insulted every day around here. And please, spare me the comments about me not being able to be open to other people's opinions. Those who have read my comments here and elsewhere for the past 2 years can attest that I'm always open to fair and intelligent debate. However, I have no patience for idiots, and there sure seems to be a lot of that going around these days, both in Lebanon and on this blog (no offense). Like our buddy "Lover" over there, a 19 year old kid talking about people being jealous of his accomplishments....

My comment here is not specifically intended at YOU. But it sure seems after every assassination. After every tragedy where innocent lives are lost. Some genius comes waltzing in here, trying to "ask smart questions" and pretending to be "open-minded" all the while being entirely disingenious. Again, I'm not saying you're doing that. But at some point, "asking questions" becomes a bit tiresome. If it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it's usually a duck. How many more assassinations of anti-Syrians will it take for some people actually point the finger at Syria? (again, not talking about Hajj, specifically, I'm just saying in general).

The same people that want to "ask questions", or come up with convoluted conspiracy theories about why it's really NOT the Syrians who are assassinating the guys that are (wait for it) ANTI syrian (see how that works? the word "anti" means against). These same people IMMEDIATELY place blame on the "zionist conspiracy" without any shred of evidence, even when it logically makes ZERO sense.

And to Lover,

You don't know anything about me, or about most of us here. You don't know what we have accomplished in our lives. We humbly choose to make this a forum of political discussion, not one of "look at how many nice things my professor said about me". I can GUARANTEE you that several people who post comments here have accomplished a lot more than you have, have been recognized a lot more than you have, and probably ever will. So cut the bullshit.

[Bad Vilbel]

And, to show you the difference between vacuous accusations, and an argument built on common sense, rational thinking, and logic, I urge you to go read this:

http://beirut2bayside.blogspot.com/2007/12/explaining-latest-assassination.html

This is how analysis is done: Quoting speeches and statements by the actual people involved, the diplomats, the Syrian FM, etc.

While it's still analysis (ie. no actual proven fact). I am a lot more inclined to believe theories that are built on solid logic and rational thinking like that, than random pronouncements from a 19 year old kid or whoever else, with no logical flow to his argument.

Furthermore, when I say "if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's usually a duck." I'm referring to exactly all the stuff Tony lists in the article I just pointed to. The Syrian regime has always been VERY consistent about announcing exactly what their intentions were. Them and their allies in Lebanon do not hide behind a whole lot of smokescreens. They are EXTREMELY transparent. The evidence is right there to see. Yet some people refuse to see it. That's what's so frustrating. They say "We won't accept a Lebanon that's governed by M14." They say "We want the same relationship we had with Lebanon prior to 2005." And the next day, someone's car blows up....Gee...Is it REALLY that hard to add 2 + 2, guys???? THEY'RE ANNOUNCING EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE DOING. AT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!

[Abu Kais]

"Lover", that's it, I have allowed you to express your opinion, but you constantly use offensive language despite my warning. You are banned from this blog. Please do not try to come back, you are not welcome here. Thank you.

[fubar]

Well, about time you yanked Romeo's hall pass, AK.

[JoseyWales]

Thanks for the ban AK, it's hard enough without having to deal with immature idiots. (Lover and Abou Mario and the like...)

Great points BV. Suha, everything taking to an extreme becomes a waste of time. same with being "open minded"

Syria's been doing this forever, and says so plainly, and refuses to recognize Lebanon as a country or as a state. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar (Freud).

Being open-minded does not mean that with each bombing we say it could be anybody: the Syrians, the Swiss, Geagea etc...

Geagea and others were/are shady and are no saints, but what sense would it make for them to undermine security, an election the want, and the gvmnt they support today???

Who has the network, capability, resources to pull one after the other of those bombings? Who infiltrated all agencies in Leb so not a single suspect is ever found?

The Zionists or those who appointed every frigging sergeant and traffic cop for the past 30 years?