From the gaggle on Air Force One this morning, with Jay Carney, press secretary to the president:
Can I ask one on a different topic, on Bulgaria and the investigations? There are some reports that the U.S. does believe that Hezbollah was behind the attack. Can you confirm that? Do you have any updates on that?
MR. CARNEY: I can tell you that the President, as I walked back here, after he had made the calls that I told you about and got the briefings that I told you about, was on the phone with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria. I don’t have a readout of that call at this point, but he obviously was getting updated on the situation there and the investigation, thanking the Bulgarian Prime Minister for the cooperation, and offering assistance of the United States in the investigation.
As for those reports, I can tell you that we don’t have any confirmation yet. We are working to assess the facts and, with our partners, to discover who was responsible. It is certainly the case that Hezbollah and Iran have been bad actors, as a general matter. But we’re not, at this point, in a position to make a statement about responsibility.
Hot off the Atlantic Wire:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/07/why-wont-us-blame-iran-bulgaria-bombing/54849/
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The reluctance to assign blame while a flurry of U.S. officials make unequivocal statements raises a number of intriguing questions. Is there a lack of hard evidence? Is this a bad time diplomatically to condemn the Iranian government? Or maybe the White House is simply exercising due caution?
One aspect that sticks out about the leaks to Reuters and The New York Times is the absence of any proof cited by the anonymous officials. While the Reuters report does cite evidence for previous Iranian-backed attacks (most notably, a plot in Azerbaijan carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards), it doesn’t provide evidence for the Bulgarian attack. Additionally, a report by the Christian Science Monitor’s Nicholas Blanford raises skepticism about Hezbollah’s involvement. “The attack by a suspected suicide bomber bore little resemblance to past bomb spectaculars pinned on Hezbollah,” writes Blanford. “Both Iran and Hezbollah have denied any involvement in the attack.”
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Gee — do you think “the absence of any proof cited by the anonymous officials” could be a factor? And the embarrassing track record of dishonest official leaks doled out the Bush/Cheney administration?
John Hudson (the author) is sharp as a tack.
If the President persists on this(even if it turns out to be Hezbollah in the end), expect him to get slammed by the lobby. Because even if he comes around to it in the end after a thorough investigation, the first crucial days are the most important for cementing a message.
Bibi clearly needs this to be the Hezbollah/Iran axis. He is counting on it.
And if Obama doesn’t want to play along right away, he’ll pay the political price.
The neocon-controlled Washington Post — another once august liberal journalistic institution, like the New York Times, which has fallen on hard times — has gone completely off the rails. Its latest editorial (carrying the full authority of its editorial board):
“Holding Iran accountable for terrorist attacks”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/holding-iran-accountable-for-terrorist-attacks/2012/07/20/gJQAyjJryW_story.html
“The bombing of a bus in Bulgaria filled with Israeli tourists on Wednesday underlines the grim fact that Iran is waging a war of terrorism. Using the territory of countries across the world, working sometimes through proxies like Lebanon’s Hezbollah and sometimes with its own forces, Tehran has been intentionally targeting not just diplomats of enemies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia but also civilians.”
Just like liberal Zionist Peter Beinart, the Post asserts without qualification (and without a speck of proof) that Iran was behind the Bulgaria attack. What kind of journalism is this?
The first comment makes the obvious point:
“This article is a new low for Washington Post. What possible evidence is there to implicate Iran in the Bulgaria bombing? Just because the Netanyahu shoots his mouth off randomly accusing Iran, we have to believe it. Is there even a semblance of legitimate journalism left in this country?”
The Washington Post doesn’t even know the identity of the Bulgarian bomber!
“Hunt American as Bomber Accomplice: Report”
http://forward.com/articles/159717/hunt-american-as-bomber-accomplice-report/
“Authorities are hunting for an American suspected of helping a suicide bomber carry out the deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, Israeli news sites reported.
The reports claimed that Bulgarian and other police were searching for an American citizen named “David Jefferson” who may have helped the terrorist widely depicted in security footage just before the airport attack that killed seven people.”
An American?
Wow — I have steered clear of speculating about any possible false flag angle on the Bulgaria bombing, but I just Googled the subject:
http://www.google.com/#q=bulgaria+false+flag
and the discussion on that scenario seems to be spreading like wildfire across many well-established alternative news publications.
Check it out for yourself.
The latest item from the Forward — reporting that an American may have been an accomplice of the bomber — is not likely to dampen that speculation.