Brig. Gen. François al-Hajj, who was on the track to succeed Michel Suleiman as Army chief of staff whenever he becomes president, was killed in a car bomb in Beirut today. Al-Hajj also led the battle against the Fatah al-Islam militant group in ferocious fighting last summer. Whether this was a revenge killing or somehow tied to the frustrating and increasingly dangerous political void (or both) is unsure as of now. Al-Jazeera postulates that this is a “significant unfolding of events because the army was the only military institution that is seen as neutral, and not taking sides in the political crisis in Lebanon.” Of course, if Suleiman does become President, the line between civilian and military status in Lebanon will become increasingly blurred.
