Final word on this dreary matter, from Hezbollah’s press liaison, Hussain Rahhal:
“Our secretary general Nasrallah has not made any interviews with any Turkish or other non-Lebanese journalist during the month of August. In front of this imaginary interview that is untruthful, and hence does damage to journalism, credibality [sic] and objectivity, Hezbollah reserves its right to take legal action against those who have published it.”
Alexander Cockburn has made a note of this here. Not only does he fail to retract the interview or apologize to his readers for the error — he continues to spin, giving us this masterpiece of incoherence:
In an item last weekend I noted charges that the interview was fraudulent, also interesting and important observations about radical components in the Shi’a tradition, which might buttress arguments for the interview’s genuineness. I hope this particular fakery won’t discredit those insights, which are important for the left.
You’ve read that correctly: The “insights” of a hoax interview are important for the left. With shameless hucksters like Cockburn around, the left does not need enemies.
[Update: Evrensel, the source of the hoax, has apologized and attempted an explanation (scroll down).]
[Update 2: David Bloom makes a good point at ww4 Report: “I fail to understand why this became such a big deal. The Nasrallah ‘interview’ wasn’t half as ludicrous as the bulk of the unedited frothing conspiracoid bilge regularly published on Counterpunch.” On that score, see the latest from the unabashed Hitler apologist Gilad Atzmon; or this, from the shadowy neo-nazi polemicist Israel Shamir; or this, from a “peace activist” in Vermont who feels “admiration” and “gratitude” for Hezbollah.]
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