[Dean's World] Aziz P: Qana conspiracies

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Aziz P:
Qana conspiracies
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1155041324.shtml


   A Reuters photographer, Adnan Hajj, was found guilty of doctoring
   photos of Beirut. That's truly disgusting. Propaganda of the basest
   sort.

   However, others now assume that because this photographer faked his
   photos, that the Qana massacre is somehow also suspect. This too is
   repugnant. Jefferson Morley has an important blog entry at the
   Washington Post that addresses the [1]evolving blogsphere attempts to
   deny Qana.

   It is important to note that most of the innocents killed at Qana were
   of two large families, the Hashim family and the Shalhoub family. The
   bulk of the arguments by the Qana-deniers have been definitively
   refuted by the doggged and diligent reporting in the mainstream press,
   especially [2]Anthony Shadid of the WaPo and [3]Nicholas Blanford of
   the Daily Star.

   Morley directly contacted one of the Qana deniers to ask him about his
   claims:

     As for EU Referendum's claim that a Lebanese rescue worker seen in
     many photos from Qana was a "Hezbollah official," I e-mailed
     co-author of the site, Richard North, to ask for his evidence.

     "All I have to go on is gut instinct," North replied.

     I appreciate his candor. It confirms that he has no evidence to
     support the central claim of his blog posts.

     North says he is just trying to "raise questions," which is
     certainly a legitimate goal. My question is: What is it about the
     photos from Qana that made Israel's supporters prefer fantasy to
     fact?

   emphasis mine, for the implications are subtle yet profound.

   Those who deny Qana, and attempt to relegate it to a hoax, are as
   guilty of propaganda as Adnan Hajj. It is the right-wing equivalent of
   [4]the 9-11 conspiracy theories, and deserves as much scorn for its
   moral emptiness.

References

   1. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/worldopinionroundup/2006/08/the_qana_conspiracy_theory.html
   2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/30/AR2006073000594.html
   3. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=74379
   4. http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1146045503.shtml