Publisher of Atlanta Jewish Times resigns January 24, 2012, eleven days after his editorial advocating Mossad assassinate Barack Obama

Andrew Adler suggested three options available to Israel: launch a pre-emptive war against Hamas and Hezbollah, attack Iran's nuclear facilities or "order a hit on the president in order to preserve Israel's existence."  (Adler's despicable column was discovered by Gawker.)

Of course, Adler has been condemned by the leaders of many prominent Jewish lobby and advocacy organizations.  He is also said to be under investigation by the Secret Service.  Nonetheless, this story has remained below the radar screen in much of the so-called mainstream media.  The NYTimes referred to the incident on January 24, 2012.

Adler offered a televised apology, which prompted one editorialist to note that it was a little sad to see a grown man cry.  Considering that Adler urged the assassination of the President of the United States, the only thing that we should be sad about is that Adler is still at-large.  He is lucky not to be a Muslim, wouldn't you say?

Musing about Muhammad Suleiman's assassination from INSS, an Israeli think-tank

INSS - המכון למחקרי ביטחון לאומי > Research > Lebanon & Syria
This short paper does not add any new information but it usefully arrays the theories and speculation about who might have killed Suleiman.

Single shot to the head...

"He was killed by a single shot to the head as he sat in the garden of his summer house near the northern port city of Tartus.

"Nobody heard the shot, which appears to have been fired from a speedboat by a sniper, possibly equipped with a silencer. The expertise required to execute such a long-distance sniper murder has led suspicion to fall upon the Israelis."

The Sunday Times, August 10, reported that Suleiman was responsible for supplying SA-8 anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah. The report draws on "Middle East sources", which leaves a lot of room for speculation.

Debka--which is uneven in reliability--highlights Suleiman's role in the Iran-Syria-N.Korea nuclear triad. Debka also ties him to Imad Mughniya, who was assassinated in February.

Earlier post, including compiled coverage.

Muhammad Suleiman killed by a sniper in Tartous

Top Syrian general assassinated: reports - Yahoo! News: "Arab media reported on Sunday that a brigadier general thought to be the Syrian regime's liaison with Hezbollah in Lebanon has been assassinated.

The reports came almost six months after the killing in a Damascus car bomb of top Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughnieh, which the Shiite militant group blamed on Israel."

The al-Hayat report that is the source for the report of Suleiman's killing, on Friday or Saturday, only refers to the fact that he was responsible for a "senstive file." The report does not show his name.

Recall earlier incident in Iran.

Added info:

Sunday Times: "A KEY aide to the Syrian president who was assassinated last weekend in mysterious circumstances had been supplying Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, with advanced Syrian SA-8 anti-aircraft missiles, according to Middle Eastern sources." "Middle Eastern sources"

al-sharq al-awsat report. This later story in al-sharq al-awsat contains several interesting bits of information from anonymous sources: Suleiman was a friend of Bashar al-Asad and they were members of the same class (shilla) at the military academy; Suleiman was perhaps more important than the Defense Minister; his portfolio extended beyond the military and intersected with the Ba'th party.

Haaretz.

al-Bawaba. This story alleges that the victim was Syria's connection to Hezbollah, but this claim seems to only speculation. Nothing that I have seen lends substance to the claim. A number of copycat reports draw on the al-Bawaba report but add nothing new.

Perhaps the most interesting added report is this one in the FT by Ferry Biedermann. She reports arrests in Syria and suggest this an intra-regime struggle.

Francois al-Hajj assassinated

A wonderful man died today.

General Francois al-Hajj was a son of South Lebanon. He hailed from Rmeish, a Maronite village close to the border with Israel where his father Elias and his mother still live. I first met him in 1980 in southern Lebanon when he was a liaison officer to the UN peacekeeping force. He greeted almost everyone with a ready smile, a fine wit, and a generous disposition. He would move mountains to help a friend--"ghaali wa-talabat rakhees" you are valued and what you have asked is nothing. In those days he patiently taught me his beloved Lebanese proverbs, and he also enjoyed beating me at backgammon. He was one of a few people who opened their hearts to me and taught me about Lebanon in the midst of the civil war, and almost all of them are now dead. Francois was only 54 when he was blown up by car bomb in Baabda on December 12, 2007.

He directed the attack on the Nahr al-Bared camp last summer, but my hunch is his death must be understood as one of the string of assassinations intended to sabotage the creation of a viable, independent government in Lebanon. General al-Hajj was widely expected to become the next army commander to replace Michel Suleiman, who is expected to become president.

This is a very sad day for Lebanon, in addition to being a horrible day for the family of Francois al-Hajj.