Hussam and "Animal House"

Hussam Taher Hussam has accused Lebanese officials of an elaborate scheme of threats, bribery and torture to induce him to testify falsely against against the brother and brother-in-law of President Bashar al-Assad. He claimed that the inquiry's initial findings rested largely on his lies. Mehlis said the testimony Hussam had given to his commission "stands as the true testimony."

Syria says it expects Mehlis to take steps to halt the "deception, forgery and extortion," and has asked Mehlis to take out seven of the articles of his report which it claims are based on Hosam's testimony." It has also asked Mehlis to take out the articles based on the testimony of another witness, Mohammed Zuhair al-Siddiq, who is now in prison in France and also accused of being offered money to give false testimony.

Mehlis has called Syria's attempt to discredit his work by putting Hussam's testimony on TV a "poor Syrian propaganda gimmick." The Syrians are claiming Mehlis of propagating propaganda of his own. They claim that the Lebanese have been fiddling with the evidence to get the international community to sanction Syria look more credible today than they did a week ago. Michael Young denies that Mehlis' credibility has taken a hit. He writes that "viewers of Syrian television were treated to the Baathist equivalent of "Animal House," as one Houssam Taher Houssam, an alleged Syrian intelligence agent, claimed he had been alternatively beaten by Lebanese security forces and offered mouth-watering bribes by the Hariri camp." Michael believes that these "stalling tactics," as he calls them, are insidious and will backfire on Syria by making Russia and China more inclined to impose sanctions. He also believes the Hussam evidence will isolate Assad further in the Arab world.

I find this a bizarre interpretation of events. Young doesn't entertain the thought that someone in Lebanon with intimate knowledge of the Mehlis investigation has been stovepiping manufactured evidence to the prosecutor. Perhaps he believes that the Syrians paid Hussam to give evidence to Mehlis that would incriminate Syria's top security chiefs in order that they could then undermine the investigation at the 11th hour after nearly being sanctioned? I doubt even he would attribute such risky cunning to the authors of Animal House. Maybe the Lebanese are not all boy scouts as Michael would have us believe? Perhaps they are not above a bit of guile and cunning of their own?

As for stalling, the rush to judgment on the Syrians was precipitous. There is every reason to believe the Syrians are suspect number one, but they should not be accused on trumped up evidence. Certainly those who have been calling for "justice" will take satisfaction that Hussam's manufactured testimony has been revealed for what it is. Now that Lebanese authorities have arrested Hussam's young Lebanese fiance and her father, they may get closer to the truth. If it took a bit of stalling on Syria's part to gather evidence for its defense, this shouldn't be begrudged. Every legal defense plays for time in order to strengthen its evidence; every prosecutor tries to rush the date of trial in order to keep the defense on is heals. My hunch is that the Arab World as well as Russia and China may now cut Syria some slack for stalling, particularly if they begin to discover that the Lebanese have been running their own version of "Animal House. "

Speaking of black operations:
U.S. Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in Iraqi Press Troops write articles presented as news reports. Some officers object to the practice, who argue that attempts to subvert the news media could destroy the U.S. military's credibility in other nations and with the American public. The Pentagon pays subcontractors to pose as freelance reporters or advertising executives when they deliver the stories to Baghdad media outlets. The military's effort to disseminate propaganda in the Iraqi media comes as the State Department is training Iraqi reporters in basic journalism skills and Western media ethics, including one workshop titled "The Role of Press in a Democratic Society."

Mehlis Seen Quitting Hariri Probe by December 15, but U.N. Investigation will Continue
A local press report said Thursday U.N. chief investigator Detlev Mehlis would submit his resignation from leading the probe into Rafik Hariri's assassination when he presents his December 15 report to the Security Council about his findings....

The Lebanese government is inclined to demand an extension of the probe beyond the Dec. 15 deadline, adding that the commission would interrogate the 5 Syrian intelligence officers in Vienna from Dec. 5 to Dec. 7.

Gambari, who is Mehlis' direct boss in the U.N. hierarchy, said the commission would probably question several other Syrians without giving names "to seek further evidence." Mehlis, in turn, told a news conference that the Syrian investigating committee had put witness Husam Husam on TV screens before interrogating him, calling the move a "poor Syrian propaganda gimmick."

Mehlis confirmed that Husam was actually the 'Masked Witness' but "not the primary witness." Mehlis said the testimony Husam had given to his commission "stands as the true testimony."

Gambari: 'Mehlis has Become a Symbol, but International Probe will Continue with or without him'
U.N. investigators will start questioning five Syrian officials on Monday about the assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri and the probe needs to be extended beyond Dec. 15, a senior U.N. official said Wednesday. Undersecretary-General for ...more

David Ignatius writes that Condoleeza "Rice believes that Damascus is doing better in controlling terrorist infiltration into Iraq," and is satisfied that "the Syrian government is now moving toward cooperation with the United Nations investigation into the death of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri."

The Syrian pound regained some of its value against the U.S. dollar