Original Reuters Story: Hezbollah’s most wanted commander killed in Syria bomb – Tom Perry and Laila Bassam

To those of us who read a variety of sources & media (the only way to get the full picture), the reluctance of some organizations to call a duck a duck will come as no surprise. Snipers who target farmers are “armed gunmen”, those who strap nails & ball bearings to their bodies and then detonating bombs upon themselves in buses filled with women and children are “militants”, the leaders of organizations whose charter calls for “death to the infidel” are “commanders”, “spiritual leaders” or at worst “extremist figures”. The word “terrorist” is avoided like the plague, as if it is some kind of vulgar profanity, or a signal of glaring bias or prejudice.

However, even the most PC outfit recognizes that there are a few individuals in this world whose callousness & total disregard for innocent life can only be described as evil. Imad Moughniyah was one such individual. His decades long career of serial murder across the world is no secret & he has never protested his innocence.

In reporting his death, the Reuters news agency declared that even a monster such as Moughniyah is not worthy of the T-word. 

In the article by Tom Perry and Laila Bassam, they do not refer to Moughniyah as terrorist even once. They purposely cloud the man’s reign of terror by painting the picture of a military leader who conducted “attacks on targets”

Senior Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyah (sic), on the United States’ most wanted list for attacks on Israeli and Western targets

On the contrary, Moughniyah’s forte was attacking & killing unarmed civilians. His intended targets were not Israeli or Western but more simply: any Jew, American or other individual that happened to oppose Hezbollah’s draconian world view. Before Osama Bin-Laden, Moughniyah was the USA #1 wanted terrorist, his crimes include:

The bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 innocent civilians.

The bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which ended to lives of 29 people.

The brutal hijacking of a TWA jet 847, in which 4 terrorists controlled a passenger plane for 17 days. The hijackers brutally tortured and trampled (off duty) American Navy Diver Robert Dean Stethem to death. They then hurled his body from the plane onto the tarmac. The end result? Over 700 terrorists were released and the hijackers went free. (Brief on the anniversary of the massacre)

Strethem was tortured, murdered & defiled by the terrorists

A role in the massive 1983 bombing of US Marines & French military barracks in Lebanon, which killed more than 300 people.

The 1983 bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people

In the 1980s Moughniyah was the leader of Islamic Jihad (in Lebanon). This group kidnapped many innocent Western hostages. The bulk of these were doctors or civilians whose jobs were to report, provide medical care and/or otherwise contribute to Lebanese society. AP Chief Terry Anderson lost 7 years of his life as a hostage because of Moughniyah. Anderson was eventually released however some of Moughniyah’s ‘hostages’ never saw freedom again, among them was U.S. Army Colonel William Francis Buckley who was likely tortured & killed after being taken hostage. Some of the hostages were exchanged for US weapons, which were sent to Iran (AKA “Iran Contra”)

Moughniyah has been linked to Al-Qaeda by some. “This connection has led some to believe he was also behind the 1996 attack on the al – Khobar Towers complex in Saudi Arabia , which resulted in the deaths of 19 American service members, 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies in East Africa and the USS Cole bombing in 2000. Some foreign policy experts, including conservative Michael Ledeen, have claimed that Mughniyah had a strong working relationship with Al Qaeda and Abu Musab Al Zarqawi [who was responsible for scores of American & Iraqi deaths]” Bio of Hezbollah’ Mughniyah assassinated in Syria, Yalibnan

The rest of the article discusses benign reactions to the murder-masterminds death. I say benign because this also smells of a deliberate white wash. Missing are the sharp tongued reactions & threats that came from the Islamic world. Missing also is the absolutely massive waves of saddness expressed by many in the Arab world. Reporters such as these are always eagre to point out the outdated & unproven myth that personalities such as Moughniyah’s are a “minority in the mostly moderate Arab world”. They are unwilling or unable to fact facts and report honestly that these individuals do not exist on “the fringe” and cannot exist without widespread support.

The Political Correctness movement seems to trump honesty in reporting & common sense. Reporters & organizations will white-wash or omit important facts rather than risking being called “racist” or “islamo-phobic”. A few days back the funeral for this monster took place, coincedentally, in a town square nearby, mostly Christian Lebanese came to mark & protest the annivesary of the assisination of anti-Syrian Premier Rafik Hariri. The difference in numbers that came out to these coinciding commemerations was glaring to say the least. Hundreds of thousands came out to support Hezbollah, this was less than those who attended the Hariri event.

Not to be overly cynic, a positive thing has occurred here, SOMEBODY has taken out a monster. However, in gauging the reactions of the media (Reuter’s supplying news to just about everyone!) & the Arab world – we may just gain a window into understanding why such monsters are allowed to thrive & kill for so long.