In researching AIPAC, I remember running across an extensive account of how the organization used public relations methods that include letter-writing, placement of articles in media, and speeches in order to influence public opinion. This came to mind today when I noticed that my Google News (tailored to Western New York) had a headline reading "Hezbollah's terrorism a threat to upstate NY" in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Now this idea is so far out, meaning it is so nonsensical and exaggerated, that I clicked on through to inspect the contents. They are here. The article in this newspaper is written by Benjamin Weinthal who is from a suburb of Rochester named Brighton. Lo and behold, he's a "Research Fellow" of the neocon outfit I've mentioned before, namely, Foundation for Defense of Democracies. It's one of those William Kristol outfits that purports to deliver research and evidence, but instead specializes in scare tactics wrapped in a mantle of pseudo-objectivity.
Accurately evaluating Hezbollah and its activities in this hemisphere takes a lot more than this newspaper piece of Weinthal. The strongest allegation of a Hezbollah presence has been an accusation made by the House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Management. It claimed that Hezbollah was allied to the Mexican drug cartels, and it claimed a threat in the Southwest. However, high Mexican officials categorically denied that Hezbollah had drug cartel connections.
Read the entire article
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