Can We Please Move On?

I don’t really want to discuss what has happened to Nazem Khoury. I just find it astoundingly shocking that he didn’t have bodyguards to protect him considering the previous deadly threats he had received. I suppose a foreigner who is out looking for something that will never really be found is more important that we are. Let’s face the reality. We may want the Truth. We may have an infallible notion of what the Truth is. However, we won’t get the Truth.

A while ago, Mehlis was quoted in several newspapers to have said “It's relatively clear that these [assassinations] weren't isolated attacks - even though I can't prove it” .

Because of his position in this investigation, I find that his public discussion of things being “relatively clear”, considering “he can’t prove it”, to be irresponsible. However, let’s just put that aside. An article by Der Spiegel (published on December 19, 2005) elaborates on the quote above, by stating that

“Mehlis believes he is close to the truth -- nevertheless, he was unable to find enough solid evidence to ensure that his case would hold up in court.”

It also discussed how Mehlis

“performed the function of an outside auditor of Lebanon Inc., of someone who examines the company's books and exposes the offences of its executives -- a role in which he felt increasingly uncomfortable. He repeatedly complained that every step his team took was politicized -- sometimes by pro-Syrian politicians, sometimes by the Hariri camp -- at times prompting Mehlis to wonder whether his investigation was doing the country more harm than good.”

Furthermore, even with the 37,000 pages of documents, Der Spiegel still concluded that

“The German prosecutor is convinced that this network of Lebanese and Syrian officials is responsible for the murder. But to this day, he and his staff have failed to prove who the spider in the web was and who issued the orders to kill Hariri, nor have been they been able to identify the killers themselves.”

Why am I blogging this now?

Simply because it is time we move on. This isn’t about letting blood go to waste, as the typical accusation goes. Let the investigation run its course. While it does, we should not forget that there is a whole county sitting on several potential time bombs which will not be reset by only waiting for the Truth. To be sure, there is a lot of commotion between the various parties as they try to heal the governmental crisis, but the statements the different politicians make can be distilled into three basic ideas (even after the attack on Khoury, and even after the attack on and by Israel):

We want the Truth.
We want National Unity.
We plan to have/are having discussions.

In the meantime …

posted by Lazarus, 4:47 AM