I'm not sure which is worse: this preposterous piece of criminal statecraft on the part of our government, or ProPropagandica's utterly shameless complicity.
U.S. authorities are building a politically explosive case that Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, finances itself through a vast drug-smuggling network that links a Lebanese bank, a violent Mexican cartel and U.S. cocaine users.
So which is it? Is Hezbollah an Islamic fundamentalist organization hell bent on jihad, or drug-runners? For decades we have been hearing they are religious fanatics, now our government, with help from its mouthpieces in the media, are doing a 180 without even acknowledging this sea change, this seismic shift in propaganda.
The indictment in Virginia results from a continuing investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration targeting Hezbollah, which has a bloody history of terror attacks against the United States and Israel.
Say what? Bloody history of terror attacks against Israel and the US? Could Propropagandica name one please?
There have been incidents which Israel and its allies have described as terror out of sheer embarrassment for their own failures, but, pray tell, has Hezbollah ever done to the US?
Now a powerful partner in Lebanon's government, Hezbollah presents itself as a legitimate political party and rejects allegations of terrorism. But Tuesday's case reflects increasing concern that Hezbollah and its ally, Iran's intelligence service, are expanding their presence in Latin America as conflict with the West intensifies over Iran's nuclear program.
Oh yes, Iran again.
Does ProPropagandica have any evidence to support this most unlikely claim that Hezbollah's influence in Latin America, assuming it has any, is sufficient to threaten America's vice-like, monopolistic grip on the hemisphere? Or that Hezbollah would have any desire to do so?
Hezbollah allegedly uses the cocaine trade to develop revenue and build foreign networks, according to U.S., European and Israeli officials. In October, the Justice Department charged an Iranian-American resident of Texas and two Iranian intelligence officers with plotting to hire Mexican cartel gunmen to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington.
ProPropagandica resurrects the reific Iran Terror Plot. Why let a good, tax-payer-funded psy-op go to waste just because it didn't do well at the box office in its first run!
The DEA described him earlier this year as the hub of a sophisticated operation that has smuggled cocaine from South America to Africa and Europe, and laundered profits via money exchange houses, used-car businesses and other companies in the United States, Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.
Hezbollah Uber Alles.
Joumaa allegedly coordinated the smuggling of at least 85 tons of Colombian cocaine through Central America and Mexico in partnership with the Zetas, the brutal Mexican cartel founded by former commandos, according to the indictment. Between 1997 and 2010, Joumaa's mafia laundered hundreds of millions of dollars for the Zetas and their Colombian and Venezuelan suppliers, regularly picking up southbound bulk cash shipments of $2 million to $4 million in Mexico City, the indictment says.
Nobody moves 85 tons of coke without the CIA's say-so folks.
Hey they even wrote in Venezueala for a cameo. I guess the only thing Colombians and Venezuelans can agree on is Hezbollah.
Now for the stunner:
Filed by the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, the indictment does not mention Hezbollah. But U.S. officials say the alliance with the Zetas was part of the already targeted network linked to the Lebanese militant group.
What? Eleven paragraphs in, after most have long since stopped reading, Pro' reveals that everything that preceded this paragraph is sheer, unsubstantiated speculation. Wow! No shame.
“The indictment does not reflect all of the information that the government has,” said a Justice Department official. “It's accurate that Treasury's previous statement connected Mr. Joumaa to Hezbollah. The investigation is ongoing.”
Uh huh.
The Shiite militia killed hundreds of people in terror strikes in the 1980s and 1990s, from the car-bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut to attacks on Jewish targets in Argentina. In recent years, though, Hezbollah has curbed attacks outside of the Middle East, focusing on its bitter military struggle with Israel and growing role in Lebanese politics. The group is seen in Lebanon, the Arab world and parts of the West as a legitimate resistance organization.
We are now fourteen paragraphs in when Pro' finally condescends to concede that Hezbollah is seen by many (that would be everybody outside Washington, Brussels, and Tel Aviv) as a defense organization. And look what precedes it within this paragraph.
First, The bombing of the Marines was not an act of terror by anyone's definition save perhaps the Pentagon's and the press they control like ProPropagandica. An armed force of occupation is a legitimate military target, nobody disputes this. The US government tried to spin it that way by risibly insisting that since the Marines killed were "off-duty" that they were not at the moment of their demise combatants, and hence it was an act of terror. This was a unique argument, and a pathetic one.
Second, Hezbollah was not responsible. Islamic Jihad was blamed, and there was some talk that AMAL was involved, but Hezbollah didn't exist in its present form at that point and were not named at the time. Nor have they ever taken responsibility for the act. If ProPropagandica has any evidence implicating Hezbollah, it needs to present it. And if Hezbollah was the perpetrator, then the US has apologies to make to those groups whom they falsely accused.
It served the imperialist agenda to blame Islamic Jihad at the time, now Hezbollah is the enemy du jour and it is now being retroactively blamed.
According to Mossad defector Viktor Ostrovsky, Islamic Jihad was responsible and the Mossad knew of the attack in advance but failed to inform the US as they believed the carnage would strengthen Israel's hand in the region.
As for the attacks in Argentina, there is much evidence pointing to the Mossad. If anyone is interested one might research the work Adrian Salbuchi has done on this. But he is by no means alone in his belief that these were false-flag affairs. The Argentine government investigated these incidents and disclosed that it had no evidence of Hezbollah's involvement.
A money exchange house in Joumaa's network used a branch of the Lebanese bank to deposit “bulk proceeds of drug sales” and then wire them to “U.S.-based used car dealers,” the document says. The cars were sold and sent to Africa in suspiciously structured transactions, U.S. officials say.
Government, as Frank Zappa noted, is the entertainment wing of the military/industrial complex. My only criticism is that he left out the media.
Infotainment at its very worst.
http://www.propublica.org/article/government-says-hezbollah-profits-from-us-cocaine-market-via-link-to-mexica
