Addicted to lies

As long as we're on the topic of lies which get repeated ad nauseam (see posts immediately below), we might as well point out that despite an admission by the Lebanese army to the contrary, Reuters continues to publish the false assertion that the LAF initially fired only warning shots at IDF soldiers doing maintenance work on the Israeli side of the Blue Line:

Two Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and a senior Israeli officer were killed in a rare cross-border skirmish on August 3, the worst such violence since a 2006 war between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.

Israel said a Lebanese army sniper opened fire on two Israeli officers as they watched a tree-pruning operation on the Israeli side of a security fence below the U.N. "Blue line." 

The Lebanese army said it first fired warning shots, then Israelis fired at their soldiers. Israeli artillery and tank fire followed.

Again, here's the admission of intent by the Lebanese army:

The Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported that General Chehaitly told the meeting the shooting was the result of a command decision and could be repeated.

"The soldiers received clear orders to open fire. The responsibility is that of the Israeli army which crossed the border," General Chehaitly said.

A senior diplomatic source, who spoke to the Herald on condition of anonymity, said preliminary investigations by UN personnel monitoring the border also indicated the Lebanese army planned the attack.

The source said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon advised Lebanese army commanders early on Tuesday morning that the Israelis would be removing a tree on their side of the border early in the afternoon.

Several hours before the Israelis moved in to begin that work, a senior Lebanese army unit arrived at the Lebanese village of al-Adeisa, which overlooks the site where the tree was to be removed, and took control of the area.

They were accompanied by several journalists linked to media outlets controlled by the radical Shiite movement Hezbollah, which controls southern Lebanon, the source said.

Shortly after 12.15pm, when the Israelis moved a crane close to the border fence to begin removing the tree, a Lebanese army sniper took aim at the commanders who were supervising the operation from a hill on the Israeli side of the border.

"The sniper was aiming for the most senior IDF officers present, not the person operating the crane where the alleged border infringement took place," the source told the Herald.

"These were not warning shots fired towards the area of the crane. Someone took careful aim at the Israeli commanders who were standing several hundred metres away."

One shot hit Colonel Dov Harari in the head, killing him instantly. Another shot caused shrapnel wounds to the chest of a captain, who is in hospital in a serious condition.

There is no question that the Israeli maintenance crew as well as the IDF officer killed in this attack were on the Israeli side of the Blue Line.  There is no question that the Lebanese army planned the attack, took aim directly at the IDF officers, and killed one in cold blood.  The only question is why, when the UN and Lebanese army have confirmed these facts, Thomson Reuters continues to recycle a bald-faced lie.