Hassan Khalil
حسن خليل
Head of Military Intelligence Directorate
In office
2000–2005
PresidentBashar al-Assad
Prime MinisterMuhammad Mustafa Mero
Muhammad Naji al-Otari
Preceded byAli Duba
Succeeded byAssef Shawkat
Deputy Director of Military Intelligence
In office
1993–2000
Prime MinisterMahmoud Al-Zoubi
Personal details
BornLatakia, Syria
DiedDamascus, Syria
Political partyBa'ath Party
Military service
Allegiance Syria
Branch/serviceSyrian Arab Army

Hassan Khalil (Arabic: حسن خليل) is the former Head of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Syria), serving from 2000 to 2005.[1] Khalil was previously deputy director from 1993 to 2000.[2]

Prior to the Syrian civil war Hassan Khalil was a key figure in Syria's bid for improved relations with the United States and the West, using intelligence sharing as an important element for cooperation.[3]

Controversies

Implication in Rafic Hariri assassination

Hassan Khalil was one of several high-ranking Syrian government and military officials named as responsible for the assassination of Rafic Hariri in a draft of the United Nations Mehlis Report that was erroneously released as a Microsoft Word document which preserved changes that had been made in the document since its creation.[4][5] The official Mehlis Report made no specific mention of anyone in the Syrian government as responsible for the assassination. The Syrian ambassador to Washington, Imad Mustafa, said that the report was "full of political rumors, gossip, and hearsay."[4]

Role in quelling civilian opposition in Syrian civil war

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad relied on Hassan Khalil in his capacity as head of Military Intelligence, to quel internal dissent with an "iron fist" during the Syrian uprising.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "President Names New Director of Intelligence". Los Angeles Times. 19 February 2005.
  2. ↑ "Who Rules Syria? Bashar al-Asad and the Alawi 'Barons'". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  3. ↑ Livermore, Daniel (2018). Detained : Islamic fundamentalist extremism and the war on terror in Canada. Montreal. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-7735-5551-8. OCLC 1055049563.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. 1 2 "Syria's Response to the Mehlis Report". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  5. ↑ "Official: Mehlis probe calls Syrians". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  6. ↑ Phillips, David L. (2021). Frontline Syria : from revolution to proxy war. London. ISBN 978-0-7556-0260-5. OCLC 1178645181.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)


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