With speculation rife in the Lebanese media about who killed Wissam al-Hassan, the ISF released a statement saying that most of the reported information is inaccurate and urging the media not to publish information that could disrupt the course of the investigation and cause citizen confusion.
Tell this to the ISF's big boss, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel. According to Now Lebanon, here's what he said yesterday:
Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Wednesday that the preliminary outcome of the inquiry into the assassination of Internal Security Forces intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan could be inconclusive.
“It is possible that the leads reached in the investigation [are inconclusive],” Charbel told MTV.
“The judiciary are not excluding any possibility, including Israel’s involvement or of those implicated in the case of ex-Information Minister Michel Samaha [who was arrested on charges of plotting terror attacks in Lebanon],” he added.
So instead of blaming the media, I suggest the ISF plug its own leaks, beginning with the minister, who is predicting that the investigation will fail and is listing Israel as a suspect. I mean if you're going to get candid with people, at least respect their intelligence and put matters in context, or just respect the investigation and speak when you have the facts.
This is, mind you, days after some judge who arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion declared that the blast completely destroyed the evidence.
I feel sorry for the FBI team that will travel to Lebanon to investigate. The only thing left for them to look at will be Charbel's crystal ball.
