On the day that French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that he was happy that Edith Bouvier, the French journalist with Le Figaro covering the war in Syria, had exited that country, Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan made statements to al-Hayat newspaper. The professional and competent officer said that Bouvier had yet to leave Syria. It was difficult for anyone to believe that the French president had erred in discussing Bouvier's whereabouts, as al-Hasan maintained that she was still inside the country. A few minutes after Sarkozy's announcement, he turned around and apologized on television to the French people, saying that he had been mistaken, and that Bouvier was still in Syria. The French journalist later left Syria and Sarkozy thanked Lebanese officials, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, because he knew that al-Hasan had helped save the journalist from the hell of Syria, after she had been seriously wounded. Al-Hasan was an exceptional figure and was skilled in his job as the head of the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces; he was also open, frank and modest in his dealings with people, especially with members of the media. He was not frightened of them, and enjoyed a wide network of ties with journalists based on an unaccustomed-to openness. He was an intelligence official who was confident, because he was always honest with them. The barbaric assassination of al-Hasan, along with his bodyguard Ahmad Sahyouni, was similar to the killing of al-Hasan's mentor, former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. That assassination was carried out because Hariri was a consummate professional and loyal to his country; he desired to protect Lebanon from the repercussions of the Syrian regime's war against his people. Al-Hasan's murder was like that of Premier Hariri, Gebran Tueni, Samir Kassir, Pierre Gemayel, George Hawi, Wissam Eid, Walid Eido and a long list of martyrs; there is also a long list of Syrian martyrs, who are being killed by the hundreds by the Syrian regime's army. Al-Hasan had worked for more than a year on the case of Michel Samaha, monitoring his movements and actions because he knew that the Syrian regime was preparing to wreak havoc in Lebanon. When al-Hasan and ISF head General Ashraf Rifi decided to detain Samaha, there was solid, condemning evidence. Syria's allies in Lebanon, led by Hezbollah, were aware that al-Hasan and Rifi had solid evidence in their possession. Al-Hasan was very disappointed that the Lebanese government failed to issue an arrest warrant against the head of Syrian intelligence, who tasked Samaha with his mission. He was also determined to protect Samaha from being killed, because he has a lot of information about his masters. Al-Hasan was a member of the younger generation who had a promising future, in politics and not only in security. This is why they killed him, along with others in the neighborhood of Ashrafieh. The assassination did not stop with those of the people and passers-by, but extended to the heart of al-Hasan's wife, whom he wanted to see safe and protected in Paris from the brutality that he knew she would be subjected to in Lebanon. Al-Hasan's two sons became orphans, crying over their loving father on the day of his funeral, with the pain weighing heavily on these two young boys. The March 14 movement erred in spurring people to attack the Government Serail in downtown Beirut after al-Hasan's burial services. The demand to bring down the government is not useful at present. It will not help in terms of next year's election, because the electoral law will not pass in any case. And it will not help on the security front, as long as the Syrian regime exists; in any event, paralysis has been the order of the day ever since the assassination of Hariri in 2005, and the string of killings that followed. During this critical phase in the region, the survival of Rifi and Colonel Imad Othman, who was appointed to succeed al-Hasan, is fundamentally important. Meanwhile, the ambassadors of the Great Powers to Lebanon hurried to President Michel Suleiman, asking that the government remain in office. This is because they are determined to see Hezbollah remain in a government that will be responsible if any disaster befalls United Nations peacekeeping troops. They are aware that if these troops are targeted they will be pulled out, and this will represent a huge danger for the region. Seeing Hezbollah's government remain in office is better for these countries than a vacuum that will expose them to even greater dangers, even if the government is unable to prevent this scenario if Iran or Syria insists on it. The international community has its special calculations with regard to its interests and these are not necessarily in line with the interests of the Syrian and Lebanese peoples. God rest the soul of General al-Hasan, and it is hoped that the killing will be stopped, promptly, in Syria and Lebanon.
