Monday, December 12, 2005

How Stupid do they Think We Are???

We do not have a history of such activities.

I have heard this statement repeated by Syrian authorities numerous times when they are asked to defend themselves against accusations that they are behind the assassinations in Lebanon. Who are these people trying to fool? How blatant can a lie be? How did they come up with such a statement? Who are they directing that message to? Western public opinion? I wonder. I wonder because only an extremely uninformed public would ever believe such nonsense.

Arrests. Torture. Dissapearances. Intimidation. Demolishing entire cities. Those activities are what have kept the Ba'th regime in power for more than thirty years. Not elections. Not persuasion. And God knows, not economic prosperity.

But still. Despite the fact that every diplomat and foreign affairs official in almost every corner of this Earth is aware of their "methods," Bashar and Boutheina still insist on saying that "we do not have a history of such activities." Is that their best line of defense? Is that all they have to say? Blatantly lie! Have they adopted that statement simply to piss people off???

I am reminded of Saddam Hussein's "(dis)information minister," who kept on insisting that the American Army was being "crushed" by the Iraqi Republican Guards, right up to the point that Marines actually knocked on his door and arrested him. His reward? Well... he has became a cyber-celebrity in the West.

Who knows? Maybe that fate is what Bashar and Boutheina aspire for at some point in the future?

Oh, but wait, wait, they're saying something... We should shut up and listen:

We do not have a history of such activities.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Raja,
HAve you even considered that it might not be the Syrians? Now i am not one who is for them but i really don't think that they are that fucking stupid!

Abu Kais said...

I heard Buthaina say that on the BBC this morning. My wife was watching and her jaw dropped. To say Syria didn't kill Tueni is one thing, but to claim Syria had no history in political assassinations is insulting. But then, what do you expect from a bunch of murderers to say on TV. Unfortunately Raja, there are plenty of believers in this crap.

The best thing we bloggers can do at this point in time is wait for the second Mehlis report and blog until we drop. That's my strategy because there's nothing else I can do that would make me feel useful. We shouldn't allow them to distract us. Tueni had the habit of always saying what people didn't want to hear. Perhaps we can follow in that tradition.