Suicide Attack Beirut
AL HARIRI'S ASSASSINATION — DEVELOPMENTS
Beirut Blast 'Was Suicide Attack'
Lebanon's ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was "almost certainly" killed by a suicide bomb, initial inquiries show. (BBC)
Lebanon Puts Army on Alert for Violence
Lebanon plunged into deep mourning and put its army on alert against violence Tuesday, a day after a massive bomb killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and raised fears that Lebanon might revert to the political violence of its 1975-90 civil war. (AP)
'Qaeda' Says Jihadists Didn't Kill Hariri — Web
A statement attributed to al Qaeda and posted on the Internet on Tuesday denied Islamists had killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, saying Lebanese, Syrian or Israeli intelligence were behind the attack. (News story)
U.S. Seems Sure of the Hand of Syria, Hinting at Penalties
The White House suggested that Syria was to blame for the Lebanon bombing and was studying the possibility of tougher sanctions. (NY Times)
In Pictures: Beirut Blast
(BBC)
AL HARIRI'S ASSASSINATION — REACTIONS & ANALYSIS
On the Brink of An Abyss
Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is dead — assassinated in a way that brings the ghosts of the not-so-distant past howling into present-day reality. Hariri's slaying is a momentous event, yet the most pressing concern right now is not who pulled the trigger. (The Daily Star)
Opposition Loses Main Force in Hariri
Rafik Hariri was a moderate leader with a strong presence, someone the opposition could rally around heading into upcoming elections that have turned on the bitter fight over Syria's military presence. That role was perhaps his undoing. (AP)
Syria Under Pressure After Bomb
In the immediate aftermath of the bomb which killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and at least nine others, most eyes were turned towards Syria as a possible culprit. (BBC)
Devastating Blow
The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is a devastating blow for Lebanon. The specter of terrorism has come back to the streets of Beirut. (Arab News)
Murder of PM Turns the Heat On Syria
Tensions between the US and Syria have escalated, with George W. Bush linking the massive bomb attack that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and 14 others to the continued presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon. (The Australian)
Farewell to Lebanon's Mr Fix-it
Influential former prime minister at forefront of anti-Syrian lobby. (The Guardian)
Hit Job in Beirut
The best response to the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister would be intensified international pressure to force Syrian troops from Lebanon. (NY Times)
Assassination: All Eyes On Syria
The assassination on Monday of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, who opposed the Syrian military occupation of Lebanon, places the spotlight firmly on Syria, a safe haven for Palestinian militant organizations. (Asia Times)
Battlefield In A Larger Conflict
Lebanon is used by and against Syria in this struggle for power. (The Guardian)
INVESTIGATIONS
U.S.
FBI Said Conducting Intelligence Abroad
The FBI is conducting intelligence operations abroad without notifying colleagues at the CIA and State Department, current and former government officials say. (AP)
U.S. Missile Defense Again Fails Key Test
The Bush administration's new missile defense system on Monday automatically shut down a few seconds before an interceptor missile was to launch toward a mock enemy warhead. (Washington Post)
Iran
Nuclear/Other News Summary
Iran expressed optimism Feb. 15 that the Islamic Republic would be able to reach a negotiated settlement with the European Union regarding its controversial nuclear program, the BBC reports. The BBC also reports that initial election results suggest that Iran could wield major power in newly democratic Iraq — not exactly what the U.S. hoped for. About three-quarters of the seats in the 275-member Iraqi National Assembly will go to key Iranian allies — the Shiite, who have a long history of support from Iran in defiance of Saddam, and the Kurds, who have depended on Iran for economic and military aid in their own bloody battles against Saddam's Baath regime. The Financial Times reports that Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary (SNSC) Hasan Rowhani said Monday night that the United States is putting pressure on Europe in the ongoing nuclear negotiations because it is not in favor of any agreement that may be entered into by the two sides. And Newsday reports that U.S. defense sources yesterday came down on both sides of recent reports that the Bush administration has been flying surveillance drones over Iran for nearly a year to seek evidence of nuclear weapons programs and to detect weaknesses in air defenses. (compiled by the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit)
UAE
Emirates Buys German Chemical Defense System
The United Arab Emirates has announced the purchase of a chemical defense system from Germany at a cost of USD 210 million (EUR 162 million), WAM news agency reported. (DPA)
Egypt
U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Chides Egypt
The United Nations' nuclear monitoring agency chided Egypt in a confidential report on Monday for failing to declare nuclear sites and materials but said its inspections had so far found no evidence that Egypt was seeking nuclear weapons. (Reuters)
Australia
Ex-Guantanamo Detainee Trained With Al Qaeda: Australian Security Chiefs
Australian security services believe former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib trained with a Pakistan-based terrorist group and with Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, a senate committee was told. (AFP)
Kuwait
Test Shows Kuwaiti Terror Chief Died of Heart Failure
The forensic examination of the body of an alleged terror chief who died in police custody clearly shows the cause of death was heart failure, Kuwait's interior minister said yesterday. (Arab News)
U.K.
Soldiers 'Filmed Group Sex In Barracks'
The British army today launched an internal inquiry into reports that five soldiers filmed themselves having group sex with a woman during a party at their barracks. (The Guardian)
IRAQ NEWS
Top Iraq Rebels Elude Intensified U.S. Raids
Military shifts to more selective targeting. (Washington Post)
U.N. Oil-for-Food Chief Faces Fresh Charges
New documents may show that the former head of an aid program made as much as $1.2 million personally from illegal oil shipments by Iraq. (NY Times)
Iraq Agency 'Run Like Wild West'
Millions of dollars were wasted by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that ran Iraq after the fall of Baghdad, a former official has said. (BBC)
Sunnis Admit Poll Boycott Blunder And Ask To Share Power
Iraq's Arab Sunnis will do a U-turn and join the political process, say Sunni leaders. (Guardian)
Rice Sends Team to Assess Iraq Transition
In a move to take greater control over Iraq policy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dispatched a team of top advisers to Iraq last week on a secret mission to review the U.S. role at this strategic political juncture in the country's transition, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. (Washington Post)
Shi'ite Jaafari Is Front-Runner to Become Iraqi PM
Shi'ite politician and former exile Ibrahim al-Jaafari emerged as the front-runner Tuesday to become Iraq's new prime minister as horse-trading to decide the line-up of the next government entered the final stages. (Washington Post)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Iraq's Electoral Balance
THE 8.5 million Iraqis who turned out to vote two weeks ago have elected a national assembly more suited for the task of nation-building than many would have expected. (Washington Post)
The Role of the Shiite Religious Establishment in Iraq
Ever since the founding of the Shiite religious establishment at Najaf one thousand years ago, it has sought to guarantee its independence from the state. (Al Hayat)
Self-Inflicted Wounds
It is becoming increasingly clear that prisoner abuse is a wretched failure that does nothing to aid the war on terror. (NY Times)
Arar Deserves To Know The Truth
When Maher Arar filed a lawsuit last year over the government's sending him to Syria against his will, the case seemed like an opportunity to clear the air over one of the stranger episodes in the war on terrorism. (Toronto Star)
What We Don't Know About 9/11 Hurts Us
Would George W. Bush have been reelected president if the public understood how much responsibility his administration bears for allowing the 9/11 attacks to succeed? (LA Times)
The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Brinda Adhikari of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.