S E C R E T SECTION BEIRUT 000237
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER
SUBJECT: LEBANON: THEORIES ABOUT MUGHNIEH'S ASSASSINATION
4. (C) On a dreary and wet February 14 afternoon Hizballah buried its hero, Imad Mughnieh, in a mass funeral service that included speeches by Hizballah SYG Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. A few hours earlier, and just a short drive from Mughnieh's funeral, the pro-government March 14 bloc held a mass rally in Martyrs' Square commemorating the third anniversary of the assassination... Nasrallah vowed "open war" with the "Zionists," The speechmaking at the peaceful March 14 rally .....only Druse leader Walid Jumblatt came out tough on Syria and its opposition allies, vowing that Lebanon will not be "handed to Damascus or to the black Syrian-Iranian world."(C) On February 13, March 14 leader MP Saad Hariri publicly denounced Mughnieh's assassination and offered his condolences to Hizballah SYG Hassan Nasrallah. Hariri also hinted at a Syrian role when he noted that Mughnieh was killed in Damascus, near an Iranian school, and in an area controlled by Syrian intelligence.(C) Meanwhile Druse leader and March 14 member Walid Jumblatt, believes that either the Israelis, for obvious reasons, or the Syrians, for reasons unknown, eliminated Mughnieh. In any case, Jumblatt, candid as usual, called Mughnieh's death "good news." (S/NF) Mid-level officials from Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) told emboffs they believe Syrian forces affiliated with President Bashar al-Asad may be responsible for the assassination ...
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