It is now official: Annie Jacobsen (the woman who accused Syrian musicians on a plane of being terrorists) is a liar. This from today's NYTimes: "Did, as a passenger reported, 7 of the 13 Syrian musicians whose behavior was terrifying some passengers stand up in unison and take strategic positions by the lavatories and the exit door during final approach to Los Angeles, an act that would have been a frighteningly overt and unambiguous provocation? They did not, according to the Federal Air Marshal Service, which had previously left unchallenged assertions by Annie Jacobsen, a freelance writer on the flight, that they did. "What happened was, they were already standing up in the aisle before the seat belt signs became illuminated," said Dave Adams, a spokesman for the agency, which represents air marshals who travel undercover on airplanes. "The flight attendants asked them to sit down and the men respected the orders and sat in their seats. Two gentlemen asked why they had to, and a flight attendant told them 'Because, so please take your seats.' And they obeyed," he said." And yet the US media keep whipping up the story. And Jacobsen could NOT find one passenger to come forward on the record and corroborate her story (she claims that two other passengers did so but they do not want to come forward). Do you know how bad that is for US relations with the ME? Do you know that Al-Hayat newspaper published a first page story a few days ago by its correspondent in Damascus (Ibrahim Humaydi whom I met in the recent visit--a great journalist who spent time in Syrian jails) in which he ridiculed that story because in Syria they all know this Syrian singing group.