"Lebanese security chiefs survive by making themselves valuable to
many different parties. While Hassan was known for his close ties to
former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the Western-backed anti-Syrian
political coalition known as the March 14th movement, he was also
skilled at navigating the treacherous terrain between Beirut and
Damascus. If in death he has become another totem in March 14th’s macabre pantheon
of assassinated public figures, in life he was more complex, a key node
within the web of shifting alliances that belie the divisions of
Lebanese politics.
Take, for example, the continued whispering about his whereabouts during the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (father of Saad). Explaining his absence from the ill-fated convoy, Hassan told investigators that he had been taking a university exam. Leaked documents from the U.N. Special Tribunal for Lebanon indicate that prosecutors there entertained suspicions about Hassan’s alibi. Yet Saad Hariri kept him within his inner circle and elevated him to higher positions of power.
Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal that Hassan was deeply distrusted by many of Saad Hariri’s allies, even as he was assailed by political opponents of March 14th for his mysterious dealings in the U.N. investigation and for his role in the government’s crackdown on Fatah al-Islam, a terrorist group that fought a bloody conflict with the Lebanese Army in 2007. Around the same time, his intelligence branch uncovered the tight-knit network that monitored Rafik Hariri just before his death. Relying on sophisticated telecommunications analysis, the Information Branch’s findings were incorporated into the U.N. investigation, eventually leading to the indictment of four individuals connected with Hezbollah."
Take, for example, the continued whispering about his whereabouts during the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (father of Saad). Explaining his absence from the ill-fated convoy, Hassan told investigators that he had been taking a university exam. Leaked documents from the U.N. Special Tribunal for Lebanon indicate that prosecutors there entertained suspicions about Hassan’s alibi. Yet Saad Hariri kept him within his inner circle and elevated him to higher positions of power.
Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal that Hassan was deeply distrusted by many of Saad Hariri’s allies, even as he was assailed by political opponents of March 14th for his mysterious dealings in the U.N. investigation and for his role in the government’s crackdown on Fatah al-Islam, a terrorist group that fought a bloody conflict with the Lebanese Army in 2007. Around the same time, his intelligence branch uncovered the tight-knit network that monitored Rafik Hariri just before his death. Relying on sophisticated telecommunications analysis, the Information Branch’s findings were incorporated into the U.N. investigation, eventually leading to the indictment of four individuals connected with Hezbollah."
