Defenseless

Another Assassination attempt in Beirut, but this time, the target is a symbol of the pro-Syrian establishment. Why would anyone want to kill Mr. Elias el Murr?

A bomb has targeted a motorcade of a well-known politician. The target is slightly injured, but two of his companions are confirmed dead. Usually, the rest of the story is predictable: The opposition would hold an emergency meeting where they would denounce the remnants of the Syrian-Lebanese security apparatus. They would then reach the conclusion that its head, the Pro Syrian president Emile Lahhoud, should be removed.

But the fact that the target, the outgoing Defense Minister, is the son-in-law and closest ally of the president makes this more than just a variation of the above line of events.
This comes in the middle of painstaking negotiations to form the first Syria-free government in 30 years. The appointed opposition Prime Minister was believed to be aiming for a Lahhoud-free government, with the possible exception of no one else but the very Mr. Murr, who has just been targeted.

So who did it?

The answer depends on where you stand in the conspiracy theory scale. Some would say that the Syrians targeted their own man, without informing president Lahhoud, to prove that the assassins are not just aiming at the anti-Syrians; a gambit perhaps to prove that Syria is not behind such attacks. This would also be meant to strengthen the argument of the Likes of Hezbollah, who have been arguing all along that the Israelis (or Americans) are the perpetrators, and would also clean the image of president Lahhoud, who can’t possibly attack his own son-in-law.

Mr. Wael Abou Faour, a P.S.P spokesman, who was incidently on T.V. when the explosion took place, quickly addressed this. He said to Walid Abboud on L.B.C: “the fact that this unfortunate attempt targeted a pro-Syrian this time does not mean that we take back our accusations regarding the previous attempts”

Which brings us to the other extreme of the conspiracy spectrum: The culprit is no other than Jumblat himself, who did it for revenge reasons.
This remark by a fellow Lebanese blogger is indicative:

I only know one thing: the “head of the snake” is much closer to Mukhtara than it is to Baabda or Bteghrine.

It is still early to know how this attempt will affect the Lebanese, but we can get a good idea by watching the reactions of the different parties, like the American Embasador, Hariri, Aoun and Lahhoud. Also indicative would be the kind of funeral Murr’s aids will have and the speech he would make.

But never underestimate the symbolism behind the fact that the Lebanese Defense Minister couldn’t defend himself.

**update**
The Syrian Arab News Agency(SANA)had this to say about the bombing: (you can find the Arabic version on Aljazeera)

These terrorist activities are targeting the Lebanese from all the political spectrum, which confirms that the perpetrators are directly related to the enemies of Lebanon and the enemies of stability in the region

I admit, I personally believe that the Syrians did it.
In a perverted plan that is becoming increasingly clear, they seem to be thinking: Make life hell for all the Lebanese (through random bombings and trade blockades). Eventually, the argument goes, the Lebanese will realize that they were much better off in terms of safety and economic activity when the Syrians were here, so we will invite Syria back.
The world should have one answer: regime change in Syria.