This is high-stakes gamesmanship.
The United States has received "credible information" that Syrian operatives in Lebanon plan to try to assassinate senior Lebanese political leaders and that Syrian military intelligence forces are returning to Lebanon to create "an environment of intimidation," a senior administration official said Thursday.Posted by Alan at June 10, 2005 06:39 AMThe official said that the information had come from "a variety of Lebanese sources" and that "we assess it as credible." The information, he said, was gathered after the recent assassinations of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February, and of Samir Kassir, a well-known journalist, a week ago.
Both were outspoken critics of Syrian domination of Lebanese politics, and Mr. Kassir had blamed Syria for the assassination of Mr. Hariri.
"This is a moment when many politicians are facing overt Syrian intimidation in the middle of the election period," said the official, referring to parliamentary elections held last month and again this month. "When Lebanese sources tell us that they are hearing that the Kassir killing will be followed by others, we take it seriously."
It was clear that the official's statements, which were offered to reporters from at least two news organizations, were a deliberate signal of the Bush administration's continuing displeasure with the Syrian government's role in Lebanon.
He said that information about the threat had been disseminated to governments in the Middle East and Europe and that "we thought it would be useful to make this public as a deterrent to the Syrians."