Chatah's assassination marks rise of extremism
In Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, the forces of moderation are being displaced by the forces of extremism.
The year 2013 ended with a violent blast in Beirut a few meters from where Rafik Hariri was assassinated on Feb. 14, 2005, an event that changed the face of Lebanon. The explosion was also near the headquarters of Saad Hariri, the symbol of the excluded Sunni leadership.
The blast killed Mohammed Chatah, a prominent figure in the March 14 movement who was close to Saad Hariri, and a man characterized by moderation and diplomacy. All crimes and bombings are brutal, but this crime encapsulates the deep crisis of the Arab Levant and presages some dark days.
The blast looks like all the earlier bombings and political assassinations. It is as if they all carry the same signature. Rafik Hariri was a Sunni leader who wove a web of international relations and was the guarantor, even if at a minimum, for Lebanon’s stability. He also provided some counterbalance to the powerful Iranian-Syrian axis.
Before Chatah, Wissam al-Hassan was killed. He was a security chief who set up the information branch of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces, which formed a security system that, until his assassination, provided a small balance in the face of Hezbollah’s security and military apparatus.
