Assad, “would rather break Lebanon over the heads of Hariri and Jumblatt than see his word in Lebanon broken”.

Syria leader threatened Hariri, says UN report
James Bone, Times (UK) Original Article

A UN fact-finding team reported yesterday that President Assad of Syria had threatened Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister, “with physical harm”. But it stopped short of pinning his assassination on Damascus. The report called for a full investigation of the bomb on February 14 by an “international independent commission” but said that the top tier of Lebanon’s security services must first be replaced.