fisking

* "But later on, the White House denied any knowledge of the UN's findings.
"I have no idea where that report came from," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "It's important that the assassination of the former prime minister, Mr. Hariri, be fully investigated. But the United Nations is continuing in their investigation, and we have not seen any update on that and any final results of that investigation."
Also a spokeswoman for the White House asserted that President Bush would not be making a statement on Lebanon Wednesday." LINK

as u know, this issue has me intrigued. why are the ams so tight-lipped? any ideas? remember, the murder was a trigger to withdraw the ambassador immediately, without any evidence, and then we get the most respected journalist in the mideast indicating that the UN is blaming syria, and we cant get a peep out of the shitehouse. ari2 wont even take the opportunity to segue into a backhanded swipe at syria, or reiterate the 1559 demands. odd. in other news, ari2 apparently didnt have a pressbriefing today.

* why would fisk say that blinky would make a statement wed unless he had that confirmed to him? robertfisk isnt known for making shit up - so my guess is that they changed their mind for some reason.

* "When George Bush demands Syrian troops leave Lebanon "because you cannot hold free and fair elections under foreign military occupation", it might be tempting to think he is indulging in self-parody. But experience suggests this administration is never so dangerous as when it sounds most absurd." LINK

* "Bully Bush brandishing Resolution 1559 (as though it held greater weight than any of the resolutions pertaining to Israel blithely ignored by the Jewish state) demanded all Syrian forces be out by May. Upping the ante, he also demanded the 1000-plus intelligence officers be withdrawn as well. (But given the nature of the intelligence field, it will be difficult to ascertain whether any Syrian spies remain. Thus it will always be possible, citing unspecified intelligence sources, to assert that some intelligence officers linger and hence Syria is "defying the international community" by their presence. As was the case with Iraq, the U.S. heaps upon Syria demands that it either cannot meet or cannot prove having met)" LINK
kerfucking ching.