We are doomed:Voice of America joins Reutersin shilling for Hizb'allah

This is utterly beyond belief. Voice of America, the U.S. Government's own propaganda arm, effuses over Hizb'allah's good works, mentioning in passing that the organization has been "branded" a terrorist group by the U.S. Government. The Islamist fifth column in America has made more progress than I'd imagined. Margaret Besheer's report opens this way:

As soon as the U.N. brokered cease-fire went into effect in Lebanon last Monday, Hezbollah's social welfare machine shifted into high gear. The organization, which is branded a terrorist group by the United States, has been registering thousands of Lebanese who have lost their homes during the 34 days of fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based militant group.

Just days ago, the badly bombed southern Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik was a ghost town. Now, it is alive with traffic and the sound of heavy machinery clearing the debris of more than a month of Israeli bombardments.

Before long, Ms. Besheer is stuffing down our throats Hizb'allah's hapless PR scheme of giving out thousands of possibly counterfeit U.S. hundred-dollar bills in a pathetic but predictably successful attempt to woo the Arab street. It was Reuters, of course, who led the vanguard of the Hizb'allah-free-money story. Since Reuters reporters and photographers happily and unquestioningly relay to us whatever lies their terrorist handlers offer, "special correspondent" Alistair Lyon and photographer Eric Gaillard regale us with tales and images of the philanthropy of the Party of God. Problem is, the images suggest more connivery than philanthropy.

Let's do what Mr. Lyon, Mr. Gaillard, and Ms. Besheer haven't the inclination to do: give Hizb'allah's claims a careful look.

First of all, though the figure of $12,000 is being bandied about quite a bit, I have yet to see a photo in which anyone is being handed anything near $12,000. Most of the handoffs, like this one, appear closer to the "several thousand" range, to be generous.



Second, and more importantly, there is significant evidence in Reuters' own photos that the money being handed out wouldn't add up to $12,000 if you had a trunk full of it. Hizb'allah is known to have dabbled in funny money in the past. The community of bloggers that saves Reuters the bother of fact-checking has taken some notice of the apparent absence of the well-known "security strip" embedded in the U.S. c-note. But that strip is not visible unless the note is backlit, and though there is one photo that seems to show a distinct lack-of-strip in a Hizb'allah bill, it's inconclusive to me. There is, however, a more glaring error, as a commenter on a thread at snappedshot.com noted.

UPDATE

It appears likely that the "glaring error" is nothing more than a fairly common offsetting of the green treasury seal on the hundred dollar bill. The seal is added to the bill late in the printing process along with the serial numbers. Its position, therefore, may not be as fixed as the bill's other elements. I am waiting for a definitive answer from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and at present there is no clear evidence that Hizb'allah's hundreds are anything but the genuine article.

After receiving a couple of comments from people in possession of many more hundreds than I have (and therefore better equipped to "compare notes") I have decided to pull my examination of the treasury seal from Commoner Sense. Anyone who wants to see the original post can email me; I'll send a PDF. My sincere apologies to my readers for the overreach. No apologies to Hizb'allah, who remain what they are, and whose actions deserve far more scrutiny than they receive.

UPDATE

The Associated Press is still pushing the Hizb'allah cash chicanery as given truth, despite the fact that the "hundred dollar bills" being handed out raise a host of questions. Whether genuine or counterfeit, where did Hibz'allah get the money? Should they money be counterfeit, what is going to happen when the recipients try to spend it? What about landlords or store owners who don't feel like accepting fake cash for rent or furniture? Does this money come with some kind of terrorist-muscle guaranty for those who wish to spend it, or will Hizb'allah disavow themselves of if it once the photo op is finished?

But none of that matters to the AP:

While [Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora] visited, Hezbollah's operatives were still handing out bundles [Ed.--"Bundles"?! Show me someone walking away with a "bundle" of cash.] of $100 bills to people who lost homes to Israeli bombs -- $12,000 for each claimant. The stipend is to pay a year's rent and refurnish homes.

No doubt. No analysis. No backstory touching on Hizb'allah's history of counterfeiting. No mention of the fact that none of the recipients have been photographed receiving anything near $12,000. No idea that this relief effort might just be spun, manipulated, exaggerated, for the benefit of western observers and for the malicious purpose of turning public opinion sufficiently in favor of Hizb'allah to give them time to recover, regroup, and reload.

And then there's the question that overshadows all others: Why are our news services transforming themselves into mouthpieces for a bloodthirsty, America-hating, sharia-loving, drug-dealing, money-laundering Islamist terrorist organization?

UPDATE

Commenters have pointed out that their own bundles of hundreds show similar variation in placement of the treasury seal to the one first pointed out in this post. I have put in a question to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to find out if the printing process allows for such variation. I have in the meantime learned that the treasury seal is added to the bill along with the serial numbers, so it seems possible that there might be variation in the placement of the seal. I will update this entry again once I receive an answer.