Syria uses Mughniyeh death to further Syrian goals in Lebanon

February 18, 2008, 12:08 PM (GMT+02:00)

Military and intelligence sources report fears in Washington and Jerusalem that Bashar Assad’s strategists are working up a frame for anti-SyrianSyrian LebaneseLebanese forces, especially Druze leader WalidWalid JumblattJumblatt, for engineering the death of Hizballah commander ImadImad MughniyehMughniyeh in Damascus on Feb. 13. Therefore, while plotting revenge on Israel, Syria may well launch a series of military incursions, spearheaded by Hizballah, to achieve their shared goal of unseating the pro-WesternWestern FouadFouad SinioraSiniora government.

Is this typical Syrian opportunism or something more sinister? DirectorDirector ofof USUS NationalNational IntelligenceIntelligence MikeMike McConnellMcConnell suggested Sunday, Feb. 17, that while Hizballah is blaming Israel, “…there's some evidence that it may have been internal Hezbollah. It may have been Syria. We don't know yet, and we're trying to sort that out.” Meanwhile FBIFBI has put counter-terror squads on alert in the US.