Hariri Press Office: Nicholas Blanford

If you want to see what Hariri Inc is up to, you can either see the press releases from the Hariri press office, or read the writings of Nicholas Banford (the writer of the hagiography on Rafiq Hariri which is distributed for free (and translated) by the Hariri family).  Look at this article on Shaykh Asir:  "The cleric is certainly media savvy. His polite, smiling walkie-talkie-carrying aides quickly usher reporters into his presence and ply them with bottles of water and cups of coffee as Sheikh Assir delivers his message - an unusually bold one at that."  That impressed Mr. Blanford.  But the credibility of Blanford is now quite in doubt: not only he famously quotes "Hizbullah fighters" who divulge to him information on missile movement, but he is the one who said that he met Hariri assassination suspect, and when the credibility of the report was questioned, he subsequently claimed that he never met them but that someone else met them (although his name appears on the article in question in Time magazine).  But look at this line:  "On Tuesday, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, a senior Hezbollah official accused Sheikh Assir of attempting to switch attention away from the support given by some Lebanese Sunnis to the armed opposition in Syria."  What is wrong with this sentence? Well, it is a lie: Qawuq never made such a statement although it is possible that Blanford received the statement from the guy with whom he co-wrote that article on the Hariri suspect.  Qawuq and all Hizbullah leaders never ever mentioned Mr. Asir's name in any statement or interview.  So add this fabrication to the list of journalistic achievements of Mr. Blanford.