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A vocal Syrian critic and top minister in the Lebanese government was assassinated by a sniper on Tuesday.

“BEIRUT, Nov. 21 — Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, a vocal opponent of Syrian involvement in the country and a leader of the country’s Maronite Christian minority, was assassinated in Beirut Tuesday, intensifying an already volatile situation and pushing the country’s government a step closer to collapse.

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora later told the nation in a televised address that the killing “will not intimidate us” but will increase the government’s determination to go ahead with an international tribunal to try those responsible for last year’s assassination of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

Gemayel, 34, was gunned down Tuesday morning as his car drove through a Christian suburb, his sedan riddled with bullet holes. He was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital shortly after 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. EST), and a distraught crowd quickly gathered to wait for information of his condition.

No official announcement was made in the crowded lobby, but word soon spread that the young Cabinet minister was dead.

“There’s nothing left to live for,” one woman cried out, as sobs and wails rose around her.
The son of the former Lebanese prime minister Hariri made the following statement:

“Today one of our own main believers in a free, democratic Lebanon has been killed, and we believe the hands of Syria are all over the place,” Saad Hariri, leader of the largest Sunni Muslim party, said in an interview with CNN shortly after the killing. - Washington Post

Hariri should know about these things considering that his father was assassinated in late 2005.

The United Nations reaction was typical. They wanted to postpone the International tribunal in the Hariri case because of Lebanon’s instability. That is the kind of assertiveness we have come to expect from the increasingly pro-Muslim council.

“How incredibly wrong that would be,” Bolton said, his voice rising in anger. “Instability? They’re killing people in Lebanon. They’re assassinating political leaders. Not the time to seek justice? There may be those on the Security Council who say it. Let them step forward and say it.”

Asked if he viewed Syria as responsible for the killing of Gemayel, Bolton told reporters, “I think the facts need to be developed.” But he added that given “the evidence that links the Hariri assassination to the other political assassinations, I think people can draw their own conclusions.”

Reminder, Hezbollah is one of the main groups that opposed the tribunal on the Hariri assassination. So it is no surprise to me that elements in the United Nations would balk. This is the legacy of Kofi Annan.

Any Democrat that opposes Bolton should be ashamed for opposing someone with so much backbone and concern. He is angry with good cause.

Elias Atallah, a Gemayel ally, speculated bitterly that Tuesday’s assassination was an attempt by pro-Syrian groups to reach “the required third” and force the current government from power.

Gemayel’s killing marks a resumption of political assassinations after a year’s lull. Following Hariri’s death, the country’s defense minister and several journalists critical of Syrian involvement in Lebanon were slain.

Now that Syria has resumed diplomatic relations with Iran we just happen to witness the presumption of political assassinations. These are the two countries that Democrats and talking heads in the media think we should invite to the table to sit down and break bread with. That tells you all you need to know.

Others: Michelle Malkin, Sister Toldjah, Blogs of War, The Jawa Report, Right Wing Nuthouse, It Shines For All

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