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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-Aug-2020
22-Aug-20 World View -- Hezbollah implicated in catastrophic Beirut Lebanon explosion

Web Log - August, 2020

22-Aug-20 World View -- Hezbollah implicated in catastrophic Beirut Lebanon explosion

Media investigations reveal new facts about the Beirut Lebanon explosion

by John J. Xenakis

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Media investigations reveal new facts about the Beirut Lebanon explosion
Investigation implicates Hezbollah in explosion

Media investigations reveal new facts about the Beirut Lebanon explosion

A man stands near the Beirut blast site on August 11. Graffiti reads 'My government did this' (Reuters)

A man stands near the Beirut blast site on August 11. Graffiti reads 'My government did this' (Reuters)

Ever since the catastrophic explosion in the Beirut, Lebanon, seaport on Tuesday, August 4, leveled thousands of homes, killed and injured thousands of people, and left 300,000 people homeless, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, the Iranian puppet leader of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, has been running as fast as he can in the other direction, to avoid being blamed. ( "9-Aug-20 World View -- Beirut Lebanon police clash with furious protesters following Tuesday's catastrophic explosion")

At first, Nasrallah insisted he knew nothing about the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that exploded, after being stored in the port unprotected since 2013, in a warehouse next door to a fireworks factory. Then he tried to blame Israel. Then, when a furious public demanded an international investigation, he insisted that any investigation could only be done locally -- that is, controlled by Hezbollah.

Nasrallah is still doing everything possible to prevent an official international investigation by the United Nations or by the European Union, but unfortunately for him, he has no way to stop unofficial investigations by media or other private parties.

An investigation conducted by the German magazine Der Spiegel and the journalism network called the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has revealed that Hezbollah fingerprints are all over the explosion, and that the storage of the ammonium nitrate in the first place was under Hezbollah control.

Investigation implicates Hezbollah in explosion

As I detailed in my August 9 article, the "official" narrative has been that a Moldovan-flagged, Russian-owned cargo ship, the MV Rhosus, carrying 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, left Georgia in 2013 heading for Mozambique, but stopped in Beirut because of technical problems, and because the owner could not afford the fees to pass through the Suez Canal. The ship was impounded in Beirut, but despite repeated requests and warnings of danger from customs officials, the Beirut courts refused to permit the ammonium nitrate to be removed or sold.

The investigation by Spiegel and OCCRP revealed numerous flaws and problems with the official narrative:

The Rhosus was actually owned by the Cypriot businessman Charalambos Manoli, not by a Russian.

Manoli used a variety of subterfuges to hide his ownership of the Rhosus from the Lebanese authorities.

Manoli had a major relationship with a bank known to launder money for Hezbollah, and Manoli owed millions of dollars to this bank.

The Rhosus stopped in Beirut because Manoli ordered the crew to stop in Beirut.

An investigation in Mozambique failed to find any evidence that the Rhosus ever had Mozambique as a destination. It appears that Beirut was always the intended final destination.

An inspection of the ammonium nitrate in spring 2020 raised doubts that all 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were still there. Based on the size of the explosion, European intelligence officials believe it was between 700 and 1,000 tonnes. So what happened to the rest?

The Hezbollah militia has an iron grip on Beirut, especially on the Beirut seaport. So one possibility is that in 2013 Hezbollah ordered the delivery of the ammonium nitrate, and has been using it for weapons and explosives in Syria and elsewhere since then.

There are other possibilities as well. That's why it's most important for an international investigation to determine what actually happened. Even though Hezbollah will do everything possible to block any such investigation, it's only a matter of time before all the facts come out.

In any case, this crisis isn't over, and won't be for years.

Sources:

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(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the Generational Dynamics World View News thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (22-Aug-2020) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-Aug-2020 22-Aug-20 World View -- Hezbollah implicated in catastrophic Beirut Lebanon explosion

Media investigations reveal new facts about the Beirut Lebanon explosion

Investigation implicates Hezbollah in explosion

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 22-Aug-2020
22-Aug-20 World View -- Hezbollah implicated in catastrophic Beirut Lebanon explosion