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Syrian Officials Implicated in Assassination

The U.N. investigative report released this weekend established a link between high-ranking Syrian officials, the brother and brother-in-law of Syria`s president, to the February 14 car bomb that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and 20 others in Beirut, and said Lebanese intelligence officials helped organize it as well.

The report did not accuse Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle but accused the regime of failing to cooperate in the inquiry. The report also alleged Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa lied in a letter to the investigating commission.

The end result of the report`s release cannot yet be predicted, but with U.S. pressure already brought to bear on Damascus it can be expected that Washington will up the ante and pressure Syria further in the coming days, weeks and months.