Your Witness is a Barber and our Witness is a King
Daoud Shirian Al-Hayat - 05/01/06//
The importance of the information divulged by Abdel-Halim Khaddam did not stem from its novelty or gravity, as he reiterated information that has been circulating and recurring over and over again since the assassination of PM Rafik Hariri. In fact, some of the things he said convey what he heard just like the people did. Aside from pointing out that the incitement against Hariri mostly came from Lebanese leaderships, headed by President Lahoud and Commander Jamil el-Sayyed, everything Khaddam said was tedious. Thus, Khaddam's interview will not add, legally and criminally, anything new to the investigation course, yet, it may galvanize the investigation on the political level. Some consider that the Syrian Vice President's defection broadcasted on "Al Arabia" channel does not differ much from the defection of Saddam Hussein's son-in-law Hussein Kamel on TV screens and his encounter with the intelligence services. In other words, Khaddam's breaking the silence signals an escalation in the conflicts within the regime in Damascus and a burgeoning corrosion and downfall of its internal front. His conclusion comes to confirm the developments on the Lebanese scene. These include a minor detour in the stance of "Hezbollah" and "Amal" with respect to suspending their participation in the Cabinet, the quest of Speaker Nabih Berry to maintain his contacts with Riyadh, while waiting for the outcome of the Saudi-Egyptian summit before deciding upon the next move with respect to the Cabinet crisis. As such, Damascus' allies are concerned about the repercussions of Khaddam's move, thus inclined to alleviate their stances and leave the doors open with the "Future" in anticipation of the coming days.
It is indubitable that giving too much weight to the repercussions of Khaddam's statement is a wishful thinking, since he practically stepped out of authority five years ago. In fact, his political and financial relation with Hariri was the major reason that led late President Hafez Assad to dismiss him. The latter considered the relation between his Vice and Chief of Staff General Hikmat Al Shahabi with PM Hariri went beyond commitment to the Regime and State, thus, cast them both away. Consequently, it is hard to consider Khaddam's defection as a reflection of internal rifts in the regime, as he is not "in" the regime to break away from it. In my last encounter with PM Hariri, I remember asking him about his standoff with the Syrians and the allegation that he was behind UN resolution 1559, "Why don't you ask Khaddam to intervene and help cooling off the relation with the Syrian Command?", Hariri responded: "Khaddam is now sitting with the audience... He is practically dismissed. His interference may complicate things, not to mention that he is in actual fact incapable." Moreover, a keen observer of Khaddam's statement would find that his move emanates from a personal vendetta, and a significant part thereof is a settlement of personal accounts. He failed in hiding his bitterness when mentioning that he was totally kept away from all the developments in the authority's inside lanes. This is why he used, throughout the interview, expressions such as "I heard" or "I was told", except when he quoted "dead people"!!
It is indisputable that Abdel-Halim Khaddam handed this statement to the investigation committee in his capacity as a witness, as he has conveyed it to the Arab and foreign intelligence before going public via media outlets. He may have imparted to the investigation committee more details than the ones broadcasted on "Al Arabia" channel. However, Khaddam sought to protect himself from any future repercussions of the investigation and achieve political gains from this information against the Syrian regime. This is what drove him, with the encouragement and insistence of the Future Bloc Head, MP Saad Hariri, who arranged the interview with "Al Arabia", making the statement public via media outlets. The objective was to achieve political goals, the most important of which is to re-instill fear, anxiety, and torment amongst the Syrian people, who regained their equilibrium and confidence in the Syrian Lira following the issuance of Mehlis' second report. It also paves the way for the third phase of the investigation into PM Harirri's assassination by striking a blow that makes people forget the story of the retracting witness Hussam Hussam. It is as though, by arranging this interview, MP Saad Hariri wanted Khaddam to say to the officials in Damascus: If your witness is a barber, our witness is a king!
It was odd that Khaddam's statement had little impact among the Lebanese popular circles. It went as similar as any other interview. Many in Beirut believe that Khaddam's interview is part of the political wrangling between Washington and Damascus. Moreover, it will not add something serious to the course of the investigation and will not help unveiling the truth about PM Hariri's assassination. It will rather increase pressure on Damascus in favor of its Western opponents. This interview may have disrupted the internal stability for a while. Some Lebanese citizens, of different ages and inclinations, believe that the Syrian Peoples' Assembly promoted the interview of Khaddam and the MPs interjections were more damaging for Damascus than Khaddam's statement. The Syrian MPs confirmed Khaddam's statement in a pathetic manner. Some Lebanese consider that Damascus' dealing with Khaddam's statement was another sign confirming that it was not proficient in dealing with the media.
It is worthy to note that Khaddam's statement revealed that the Arab media, especially the official media, is mostly against the Syrian regime. The simple broadcasting of the interview was heartily welcomed by all Arab media outlets. The latter commented stressing the serious threat it represents on the future of Syria, while weakening its stance in the investigation. No one even pondered over the history of this new witness, the crimes he committed in Lebanon, and the assassinations that took place when he was in charge of the Lebanese file since 1976 until he was forced out of the authority in 2000. No one mentioned that Khaddam disregarded apologizing to the Lebanese and the Syrians against whom he practiced oppression for three decades.
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