Thursday, 02.14.08
Mughniyeh's swansong
Patrick Baz/Getty Images
Who got his scalp? Laura Rozen points out that everyone wanted him dead, even Hizbullah, who had a hard time selling the we-build-hospitals-and-schools-line with a mass murderer on its payroll. Israel would certainly have delighted in his demise, but so would the US, and nearly every one of the Lebanese factions, which are about as numerous as air molecules, and in many cases well-armed.
Scattered among the vague reports of his life are mentions of state-actors who supported him -- principally Syria and Iran, but also Saudi Arabia, which declined to arrest him in the 1990s. Traveling across borders without incident takes assistance from people in power. He operated in the Triple Frontier as well, almost certainly not with the connivance of South American governments, but apparently with freedom of movement between there and the Levant. As we reconstruct this guy's life from the wreckage in Damascus, it might pay to ask how such a wanted man managed to wrack up thousands of frequent flyer miles and collect hundreds of visa stamps before someone finally caught up with him.
The usual suspectsLaura Rozen catalogues the gallery of parties and governments who would have killed Mughniyeh, if they had the chance. A portrait emerges of a man who'd have trouble getting a life-insurance policy. |
Uh-ohAndrew Exum sees the assassination as a potential spark for more bloodshed and rioting in Lebanon. |
The most dangerous terrorist in the worldJeffrey Goldberg sketched the murky details of the life of Mughniyeh, in the context of his work in South America. |
Hizbullah fall-outAaron Mannes says the killing will cause Hizbullah to review its internal security, top to bottom. |
