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On the ‘Reasonable Assumption’ Hezbollah Was Behind the Burgas Bombing

by Feb 10, 2013Articles, Foreign Policy0 comments

There's been a lot of hype in the media that the Bulgarian government has announced that its investigation has concluded that Hezbollah was responsible for the bus bombing in Burgas that killed five Israeli tourists and the bus driver.

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There’s been a lot of hype in the media that the Bulgarian government has announced that its investigation has concluded that Hezbollah was responsible for the bus bombing in Burgas that killed five Israeli tourists and the bus driver. “Hezbollah and Iran Blamed in Bombing” blared the Wall Street Journal headline, for example, and the New York Times announced: “Bulgaria Implicates Hezbollah in July Attack on Israelis”.

Indeed, the hype began even before an announcement was made. The Journal article stated

Bulgaria’s government is expected to release an investigative report this week blaming the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and its ally Iran for a terrorist bombing last summer that killed five Israeli tourists, said U.S. and Middle East officials briefed on the findings.

So even before a statement came out, it was already being planted in the minds of Americans that Hezbollah and Iran were behind the terrorist attack. According to Bulgarian investigators. According to “U.S. and Middle East officials”.

“Middle East officials”? That would no doubt be Israel, which immediately blamed Hezbollah and Iran for the attack after the bombing, despite the total lack of any evidence that this was so.

The Times article stated

With help from the United States and Israel, investigators here broke the case — and linked it to Hezbollah — using a tip from a secret source and some old-fashioned detective work, tracing the printer that had produced two forged licenses back to Lebanon.

So the “clumsily forged” Michigan drivers’ licenses were printed on a printer in Lebanon. That’s the damning proof that Hezbollah — and Iran, don’t forget — were responsible for the bombing. Oh, and there’s this:

In September, a European intelligence service tipped off the Bulgarians about an Australian bombmaker of Lebanese descent, the former senior Western official said. The intelligence service said he had moved to Lebanon to join Hezbollah’s military wing. Mr. Tsvetanov said Tuesday that the Australian and the Canadian moved to Lebanon, one in 2006 and one in 2010.

So the Australian bombmaker had supposedly “moved to Lebanon to join Hezbollah’s military wing”. What is the evidence for that claim? Did he announce to all his friends and family back in Australia that’s what he was going to do? Furthermore, even assuming that was indeed his intent, is there any evidence he actually did join Hezbollah? Apparently not.

The Times was at least good enough to quote what Bulgarian Minister of the Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov actually said when he made his announcement about the findings of their investigation. Mr. Tsvetanov said:

A reasonable assumption, I repeat a reasonable assumption, can be made that the two of them were members of the militant wing of Hezbollah.

A “reasonable assumption”. Assumption. One is left to wonder whether “a reasonable assumption” would hold up as grounds for conviction in a court of law. The corollary of it a “reasonable assumption” that the two were members of Hezbollah being that there remains a reasonable doubt that this was so.

Oh, also, even if they were members, it doesn’t follow that Hezbollah actually ordered the attack or had any knowledge of it.

Oh, also, even if Hezbollah was responsible, it doesn’t follow that Iran actually ordered the attack or had any knowledge of it. (One will observe that Mr. Tsvetanov said nothing about Iran being involved, despite the claims of certain anonymous “U.S. and Middle East officials” that he would.

But that’s irrelevant. All that matters is that Americans believe that Iran was behind the bombing. This is the same kind of propaganda device employed by U.S. government officials and the compliant mainstream media that convinced 70% of Americans that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

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