Knock It Off? YOU Knock It Off!!

Here's the newest on the outbreak of political assasination in Lebanon (as previously noted here), from the BBC: US urges Lebanon murder inquiry

The US has called for a full investigation into the killing of a veteran Lebanese politician, who had recently become critical of Syria.

Yes! You bet! Full investigation!! You betcha!!

I'll give you five dollars if this isn't another instance of Truth By Inversion. You know how it goes: once somebody gets a reputation for lying, you can always assume the opposite of what they say! I'm suspicious because none of the American or British stories seem to mention that the late "Lebanese politician, who had recently become critical of Syria", was even more critical of the United States. Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it?

And as for the present tactic, it's been going on for centuries. Arthur Conan Doyle used it more than once. Whoever screams for a full investigation is always a worthwhile suspect. Innocent people usually assume that the investigation will be thorough and they ask how they can cooperate with it. It truly is an arrogant thief who shouts: "You gotta catch whoever did this!"

So ... you have to be suspicious but you can't get carried away with it, because even the most inveterate liars will sometimes turn around and look you straight in the eye and tell you the truth. Thus

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the murder was part of a pattern of targeted political assassinations to intimidate the Lebanese people.

and it makes you wonder: How does he know that??

Well I'll tell you who does know something. Chris Floyd. Read his most recent post on the matter here: Splintered Cedars: The Real Low-Down on Lebanon and be sure to click on through for some great links. Thanks again, Chris.

Meanwhile,

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said earlier on Tuesday she did not know who was behind the attack.

which probably means she does know, wouldn't you think?

But Ms Rice said that Damascus was contributing to "an atmosphere of instability" in Lebanon and should, as she put it, "knock it off".

Of course! First you throw your own books! Then you point at the kid sitting next to you and you start yelling:

Hey! He threw my books! Hey, buddy!! Why'd you throw my books? You better knock it off, kid! What are you thinking, throwing my books like that?? Don't you know it reflects on your parents when you throw somebody's books??

What can the poor kid do? He sits there and shrugs and says "Hey! it wasn't me!". Doesn't he?

Round up the usual suspects!

Aljazeera has the latest on that:

Arrests follow Beirut assassination

A number of Syrian workers have been arraigned for questioning in connection with the assassination of the former secretary-general of the Lebanese Communist Party, George Hawi.
....
opposition forces repeated their demand for the resignation of President Emile Lahoud, blaming him for the assassination of Hawi in his capacity as head of the security system.

Sammy Cahn said it better than I ever could.

It seems to me I've heard that song before
It's from an old familiar score
I know it well, that melody

But meanwhile, Aljazeera reports a very intriguing detail:

Many civil defence and security force officers arrived at the scene and cordoned off the area. A team of FBI investigators also went to the site, Aljazeera learned

Oh really? I never knew the FBI had jurisdiction in Lebanon!

Or maybe they're there in an unofficial capacity.

Oh, don't mind us, we're just passing through, happened to be in the area and we thought we'd stop by ... hey look over there! what's that! ...

Could be anything! But we're back to Aljazeera for a few more interesting bits:

Nasir Qandil, a former member of parliament, told Aljazeera that Hawi had an important role in organising resistance against Israel and that was the reason for his slaying.
...
But former Lebanese president Amin Jmayil gave Aljazeera a different view, saying Hawi paid for his involvement in protests that led Syria to withdraw its troops and intelligence services from Lebanon.

It's the former president who draws my attention as a potential disinfo-specialist. Can't put my finger on it, can you?

"Hawi's assassination also aims to cause instability in the country. It has nothing to do with the elections and their results," he added.

Oh. Yeah, right!

Listen, let me tell you something: The public assassination of a politician never has anything to do with politics in any way shape or form, not to mention elections and their results! Not in Lebanon, nowhere!

And you can trust me on that. [wink, wink. nudge, nudge.]

Here's Sammy Cahn:

It seems to me I've heard that song before
It's from an old familiar score
I know it well, that melody

It's funny how a theme
Recalls a favorite dream
A dream that brought you so close to me

I know each word, because I've heard that song before
The lyrics said: "for evermore"
For evermore's a memory

Please have them play it again
And (Then) I'll remember just when
I heard that lovely song before