AP: Nonexistent Hizballah Fighters Vanish, Become Civilians

Sat, Sep 23, 2006 at 8:56:04 am PDT

In this reeking pile of propaganda masquerading as a news report, Associated Press writer Hamza Hendawi inadvertently reveals an interesting fact: Lasting quiet returns to south Lebanon.

MARJAYOUN, Lebanon - Hezbollah fighters have vanished in south Lebanon, melting back into the population. Whether peace holds will depend on how they put up with the newest players in their longtime stronghold: the Lebanese army and a beefed-up U.N. peacekeeping force.

Now just a minute. “Melting back into the population?” Isn’t this the same Associated Press who told us that all of the Lebanese casualties were “civilians?” Who never published a single photograph of a Hizballah fighter in action? Who mocked allegations that Hizballah was using the real civilians as human shields? Who screamed non-stop about “disproportionate” action by Israel?

But now Hizballah fighters, who (if you believe the AP) were never there to begin with, have mysteriously “vanished.”

What a joke.