Nicholas Blanford and the hoax

So the latest in the Nicholas Blanford media's scandal is that he has said that he knows nothing about the interview with one of the four Hizbullah members accused of assassination of Rafiq Hariri.  So Blanford, according to his own account, agreed to write an analysis and shares his byline with someone that he does not know and that even used language that left the impression that he was there during the interview (he commented that the guy appeared relaxed).  OK: so Blanford agreed to receive an interview with the guy sent to him from New York City.  To defend the magazine, he has said in Beirut that he does not doubt the interview because the magazine is "respectable".  I mean, it does not get sillier and more unprofessional than this.  But there is another angle: Blanford is writing a book on Hizbullah, so he sees himself as Hizbullah expert.  To me any Hizbullah expert should have seen that interview and dismissed it as an intelligence hoax without finishing the whole interview.  This really discredits Blanford's claim of expertise on the party.