Nasrallah and CounterPunch's Hoax

Just got this update from a friend in Turkey:

Here is a summary of a report just made by the Anatolian News Agency:

Hussain Rahhal, Hezbullah's responsible for press has issued a written statement saying that no such interview was made. He said: "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 and objectivity, Hezbollah reserves its right to take legal action against those who have published it."

As'ad AbuKhalil of Angry Arab News Service had said it from the beginning:

This 'interview' with Nasrallah that is posted on Counterpunch is fake. I declare it to be a hoax, OK? I mean, it is so obvious. The guy does not sound like Nasrallah form the first sentence. Wait. It is possible that this is Hasan Dib Nasrallah, the Lebanese grocer kidnapped by Israel in a "daring commando raid?"

Instead of checking the facts, CounterPunch and Alexander Cockburn accused of "orientalism" As'ad AbuKhalil:

Editors' Note: The authenticity of this interview has been challenged, maybe because Nasrallah doesn't speak entirely according to Orientalist expectations of what a Shi'a leader should be saying. CounterPunch has confirmed that the interview did appear in the Turkish socialist daily Evrensel on August 12 and 13, provoking comment in the Turkish corporate press because Nasrallah expressed his admiration for the 1960's generation of revolutionaries like Deniz Gezmis.

On August 19 World War 4 Report published an email by Lebanese scholar Gilbert Achcar:

"Many of you have certainly seen an interview allegedly done with [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah by a Turkish radical left newpsaper... I have enquired about it, and a source in Beirut in close touch with Hezbollah has confirmed to me that it is a forgery."

But Alexander Cockburn published a couple of days ago the following delirium to defend the publication of the interview on Counterpunch:

Snap Judgments
About That Nasrallah Interview
By ALEXANDER COCKBURN

As'ad AbuKhalil replied with much elegance

Alexander Cockburn and the Humorless Left

Why has the "official left" become so arrogant? We all make mistakes of course, so this is not the point. The point is the arrogance and stupidity to insist without checking the facts as if for some kind of natural law some people feel they are above fallibility and criticism. Finally the accusation of "orientalism" by Cockburn against As'ad AbuKhalil was frankly pathetic.

There is enough to think and meditate...

UPDATE: In his last article on this story, Alexander Cockburn writes:

Hezbollah's denunciation is categorical, and should be taken as the last word, though if there are any significant or interesting updates we'll let CounterPunchers know. I do find Hezbollah's threat of legal action somewhat comical. Will they also try to drag Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner and other barons of the First World press into the World Court for misrepresentation? Wasn't that the hope of the proposed New World Information Order, twenty-five or so years ago?

The parallel is completely irrational and once again confirms the arrogance of Alexander Cockburn. The despicable Murdoch's press and the other mainstream media didn't publish any fake interview with Nasrallah. This is really a very bad page for the alternative media. As the Evrensel Daily of ISTANBUL wrote:

With this forgery, "Mutlu Sahin" and "Roza Cigdem Erdogan", the forgers, who are members of the "Sheikh Bedreddin Film Collective" (Turkish initials, SBFK) have attempted to tarnish the reliability of Evrensel, a 12-years old socialist newspaper. But this is not all. They have attempted to erode the reliability of all progressive, antiwar, antiimperialist sources and people all over the world; as the "interview" had far reaching consequences than they probably have imagined in their pathetic minds.

The same must be said for the absurd behaviour of Alexander Cockburn and CounterPunch in this farce. Very sad indeed!