Daniel Akill's Blog | 276: 36 YEARS OF FEARS AND TEARS (JULY 1972-MAY 2008): A CHRONOLOGY OF BOMBINGS AND BLUNDERS, ATROCITIES AND ASSASSINATIONS IN LEBANON:

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276: 36 YEARS OF FEARS AND TEARS (JULY 1972-MAY 2008): A CHRONOLOGY OF BOMBINGS AND BLUNDERS, ATROCITIES AND ASSASSINATIONS IN LEBANON:

19 May, 2008

36 YEARS OF FEARS AND TEARS (JULY 1972-MAY 2008): A CHRONOLOGY OF BOMBINGS AND BLUNDERS, ATROCITIES AND ASSASSINATIONS IN LEBANON: A not-so-gentle step-by-step walk from the past through fears and tears, death and destruction, torn limbs and traumatized lives, displacement and dispersion, to the present

It is always good to remember the past in order to learn from it and not repeat the same blunders; it is futile and insane to dwell on and wallow in it. Dear readers and fellow-Apes; life’s problems and strife can be summed up in 8 words or 4 phrases: “going through” “getting over” “learning from” “moving on”

The Lebanese Apes are always going through problems and strife which they have created in the first place and each one worse than the one before; they always get over them; and they always create and move on to the next even worse problem and strife, but they never learn from them!

Assassinations are virtually a cliché in Lebanon, as the startling regularity of their occurrence suggests. Although they are often called acts of terrorism by one or another interested party, they are part of the fabric of Lebanon's often unstable political landscape, and Syria’s adoption and adaptation of one of the oldest tactics in the world: Eliminate the competition and all those that oppose and reject Syria’s presence and influence, and Syria’s Moles, Rats, Jackals, Hyenas, Puppets, and FIENDS remain to run the country with the rest intimidated and subservient; and thus, the country would revert to the Status Quo Ante Syria’s physical but not reality withdrawal from Lebanon, and Syria could and would stop or even cancel the International Tribunal and manipulate and exploit Lebanon to Syria’s and Iran’s advantage. Proof of all that is: No assassinations since 1976 during Syria’s presence and influence have been solved.

8^th July 1972: Ghassan Kanafani of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was killed in a car-bomb (reputedly planted by Israel) in Beirut

13^th April 1975: The Lebanese Civil War that began on 13^th April 1975 and lasted for 16 years and 7 months (with pauses in-between) and ended on 13^th October 1990. The war was fought along Religious and Political Borders involving Christians, Moslems, Druze, the PLO, and the Israeli and Syrian armies.

10^th May 1976: USA Ambassador, Francis Malloy, was assassinated

3^rd January 1977: A car-bomb killed 50 people in Christian East Beirut

16^th March 1977: Kamal Jumblatt was assassinated by Syrian agents8^th

June 1978: A local Phalange (Kataeb) Party leader, Joud el Bayeh, was murdered by six armed men (Marada) sent by Tony Franjieh in the district of Zgharta Zawie

13^th June 1978: The Phalange (Kataeb) Party launched a surprise attack at 4am in Ehden that decimated the Marada Brigade; Tony Franjieh and his wife, Vera, and their 3-year-old daughter were killed in the attack. One might wonder how they managed to get through the not fewer than 40 Syrian Army check-points on the road to and around EhdenSuleiman Franjieh vowed revenge and subsequently sought an alliance with some of his former enemies, including Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt and former Prime Minister Rashid Karami. The three formed the pro-Syrian National Salvation Front

4^th September 1981: The French Ambassador was assassinated

1^st October 1981: PLO Headquarters in Beirut car-bombed, killing 250 people

15^th December 1981: The Iraqi Embassy car-bombed, killing 27 people

14^th September 1982: President Bashir Gemaeyel was assassinated by a powerful bomb planted in the Phalange (Kataeb) Headquarters building

11^th November 1982: The Israeli Military Headquarters in Tyre was destroyed by a bomb, killing 75 Israelis and 16 Lebanese prisoners1982 was also the year Israel invaded Lebanon

18^th April 1983: The US Embassy was blown up by a (Fateh) suicide truck, killing 63 people, including chiefs of the CIA stationed in the Middle East

23^rd October 1983: US Marine barracks bombed by Hezballah suicide truck, killing 241

23^rd October 1983: French Military Headquarters bombed by Hezballah suicide truck, killing 58

4^th November 1983: Hezballah suicide bombing of Israeli Military Headquarters in Tyre, killing 60

4^th March 1985: Hezballah leaders killed when an Israeli bomb explodes at their office in Marakeh near Tyre

8^th March 1985: Car-bomb targeted Hezballah leader, Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who escaped unhurt but more than 80 people were killed and 200 wounded

1^st June 1987: Rashid Karami was assassinated by a bomb exploding in his helicopter. The helicopter lifted off from Tripoli.

22^nd November 1989: Pro-Syrian President-elect Renée Mouawad was assassinated

22^nd October 1990: Danny Chamoun was assassinated20^th March 1991: The Lebanese Defence Minister and 8 others killed in car-bomb

30^th December 1991: A car-bomb kills 20 people in Moslem quarter of Basta

16^th February 1992: Hezballah leader, Abbas Musawi, assassinated in Djichitt in south Lebanon

20^th December 1993: Truck-bomb destroyed The Phalange (Kataeb) Party HQ, killing 3 and wounding 100

29^th January 1994: Naeb Maitah, Jordanian Embassy First Secretary assassinated

7^th February 1994: 4 Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon by Hezballah

27^th February 1994: 11 killed and 54 wounded in bomb attack at Zuq Mikhael Church

31^st April 1995: Sunni radical, Sheikh Nizar Halabi, assassinated

9^th April 1996: A Lebanese boy was killed by a bomb in south Lebanon. No name because that boy represented all the boys who would be men and who were dragged into all the conflicts and wars over the years and who died before their time. He also represents all the mothers who suffered the pain, anguish, and desperation of losing a child in too many conflicts and wars that never served any purposes or achieved any aims except help the warlords to get and be where they are now: ministers and representatives; receiving unheard of and unearned salaries for doing nothing but the same things all over again: divide, and rule!

3^rd January 2000: Rocket attack on Russian Embassy killed 2 and wounded 7

24^th January 2002: Elie Hobeika was assassinated by car-bomb (suspected involved in Sabra and Chatila camp massacres in 1982) a fomer Christian Lebanese Forces commander and a parliamentarian with a pro-Syrian bent at the time of his assassination. However, he had been identified by Israel as playing a leading role in the 1982 massacre of Palestinians in two Lebanese refugee camps, during Israel's Lebanese invasion. Hobeika's agreement in 2002 to speak at a trial Palestinians were bringing against Israel for the massacre gave rise to speculation he may have been assassinated by Israel.

20^th May 2002: Mohammed Jihad Jibril was the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in Lebanon was killed by a car bomb. Israel was thought to be behind the explosion, but denied any responsibility

2^nd August 2003: Ali Hussein Salah was a Hezballah member and driver working for the Iranian Embassy, when he was killed. According to reliable sources, the target of the attack was a senior Hezballah member who was supposed to be in the car at the time but was not.

19^th July 2004: Hezballah member, Ghaleb Awali, was killed by a bomb explosion outside his home in Beirut. In Hezballah head Hassan Nasrallah's eulogy, he praised Awali as a “martyr of Palestine” making it clear that Awali had worked on behalf of activities or operations by Palestinian groups. A Sunni group, Jund al Sham (Soldiers of greater Syria), claimed responsibility for the assassination, but Hezballah pointed the finger at Israel.

1^st October 2004: Druze MP Marwan Hamadeh was wounded and his driver was killed in a car bomb

14^th February 2005: Rafiq Hariri, the Sunni anti-Syrian former prime minister, was killed by a massive car bomb that killed about 15 other people. The most prominent suspect in the murder has been Syria but it has also been argued that Syria had little to benefit from provoking anti-Syrian sentiment. A U.N. tribunal was scheduled in 2006 to investigate Syria's potential role in the assassination.

14^th February 2005: Baasel Flayhan was one of those killed along with Rafiq Harriri

20th May 2005, Tuesday: Ramzi Irani was abducted and murdered by Syrian Agents

2^nd June 2005: Samir Kassir was assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut. The investigation into his assassination is still underway, but no one has been indicted yet. Since Kassir had been constantly receiving threats from Lebanese and Syrian intelligence officers, there was widespread speculation in Lebanon that the perpetrators were the Lebanese-Syrian security apparatus or remnants of that forceHe was a university professor, a journalist and a historian, born to a Lebanese Palestinian father and a Syrian mother. He held both Lebanese and French nationalities. A prominent left-wing activist, he was a strong advocate of freedom for the Palestinians, democracy in Lebanon and Syria and a vocal critic of the Syrian presence and influence in Lebanon. A French investigation had been underway but its results have yet to be released.

21^st June 2005: George Hawi was assassinated when a bomb planted in his car was detonated by remote control as he travelled through the Wata Musaitbi neighbourhood in beirut. The pro-U.S March 14 Alliance and Western media immediately blamed Syria for his killing and for the other explosions in the capital, although Hawi's own son has been arguing ever since that Salafi Jihadists affiliated with and funded by Saudi Arabia through Bandar bin Sultan are responsible for the killings, including that of Rafik Hariri.

Hawi was a longtime leader of the Lebanese Communist party and lifelong activist on behalf of Lebanese autonomy and the Palestinian cause, was killed along with his driver by a bomb placed under his car. He was opposed to Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs, but also well known for his thoughtful and dialogic approach to political issues.

12^th July 2005: Elias Murr was seriously wounded in a bombing in Beirut. The explosion happened in the city of Antelias, 5km north of Beirut. Police reported one killed and a dozen injured.

25^th September 2005: May Chediak was seriously injured by a car bomb in Jounieh. The bomb, which nearly killed her, was a one-pound explosive, detonated as she entered her car. Her left leg below the knee was blown off and her hair and clothes were set on fire. Following the amputation of her severely injured left arm her condition became stable and she soon recovered. She may now be half the woman she once was, physically, but she is twice the woman she once was, mentally.

12^th December 2005: Gibran Tueni was killed by a car bomb. He was the publisher of the Lebanese daily newspaper an-Nahar and a pro-government Member of Parliament. He was well-known for his 2000 Open Letter to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, in which he criticized Syrian interference and influence in Lebanon.

26^th May 2006: Mahmud Majzoub, the leader of Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, was assassinated along with his brother, Nidal, by a car bomb. Majzoub was also known as Abu Hamza. Lebanese authorities accused the Israeli Mossad of the attack.

21^st November 2006: Maronite Christian parliamentarian, Pierre Gemayel, was stopped in his car and shot at close range by several gunmen. His murder took place in the midst of a standoff between lawmakers calling for the UN tribunal to investigate Hariri's assassination and Syrian-allied members, led by Hezballah, seeking to block it. March 14 bloc party members accused Syria of the assassination.

13^th June 2007: Walid Eido Anti-Syrian parliamentarian Eido was killed when his booby trapped car exploded. The blast also killed his son, two bodyguards and six others.

19^th September 2007: Antoine Ghanem was an MP affiliated with the Christian Phalange Party associated with the March 14 bloc: a collection of parties united by their opposition to Syrian involvement, interference, and influence in Lebanon. His assassination came a few days before parliament was set to begin deciding on a new president, and his assassination, on the heels of those of other anti-Syrian MPs, was seen by many as an effort to affect the election in favor of the incumbent pro-Syrian president's bloc.

12^th December 2007: A car bomb killed Brigadier-General Francois Hajj and at least three others, putting even more pressure on the country's delicate political situation. Hajj, one of Lebanon's top military generals and a top Maronite Catholic in the command, was considered a leading candidate to succeed the head of the military, General Michael Suleiman, after Suleiman has been elected as the new president to replace Emile Lahhoud whose term expired on November 23. Hajj, 55, was hailed as the hero of the military campaign against the terrorists of Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr el-Bared battle.

25^th January 2008: Wissam Eid, a police investigator working on collecting evidence on Hariri's and other assassinations, was killed by a car bomb.

6^th May 2008: Hezballah, Amal, the SSNP, the Aounis, Karamis, Wahabs, Arslans, Etc Leaders ordered their hordes and mobs of illiterate and ignorant dregs of Lebanon and the Lebanese into the streets for a so-called peaceful protest against the high cost of living which ended up in their taking over of Beirut and virtually closing down the Beirut International Airport and blocking all roads leading to and from the airport.

That, according to their pin-brains and twisted logic, would solve the problems and reduce the cost of living. As if Fouad Saniora and his Football Team were responsible for the high and still rising price of crude oil which has raised the cost of living, not only in Lebanon, but in every country on the planet.

I wonder whether they knew what the effect of closing down the country’s airport and blocking all access (roads) to it would have on the economy! Perhaps they did, and the question now is: Do they care, or were they just doing as they were ordered by the ASSES (the leaders of those mentioned) of Syria and Iran through which they FART!

Your guess is as good as mine, and you probably know it better than I do.

Posted by akill 05:24 | General | Comment(0) | Permalink

20th May 2002: Mohammed Jihad Jibril was the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in Lebanon was killed by a car bomb. Israel was thought to be behind the explosion, but denied any responsibility

2nd August 2003: Ali Hussein Salah was a Hezballah member and driver working for the Iranian Embassy, when he was killed. According to reliable sources, the target of the attack was a senior Hezballah member who was supposed to be in the car at the time but was not.

1st October 2004: Druze MP Marwan Hamadeh was wounded and his driver was killed in a car bomb

26th May 2006: Mahmud Majzoub, the leader of Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, was assassinated along with his brother, Nidal, by a car bomb. Majzoub was also known as Abu Hamza. Lebanese authorities accused the Israeli Mossad of the attack.

13th June 2007: Walid Eido Anti-Syrian parliamentarian Eido was killed when his booby trapped car exploded. The blast also killed his son, two bodyguards and six others.

25th January 2008: Wissam Eid, a police investigator working on collecting evidence on Hariri's and other assassinations, was killed by a car bomb.