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Sometimes you have to go with your gut instincts, and I wish I’d stuck with mine yesterday.
Wednesday morning it was my happy duty to report on the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, the night before. “My first thought was that a Mossad assassination team had snuck in, done some dirty work that needed doing, and then snuck back out,” is what my gut assured me had happened. But then reports came in that Haniyeh had been killed in a precision airstrike.
“Nevertrustfirstreports.”I’mgoingtowritethatonablackboard100timeslatertoday—andnotforthefirsttime,either.
Ifyouweren’tfamiliarwithHaniyehormissedyesterday’scolumn,hewasusuallypresentedasthe“moderate”faceofHamasbecauseourpressseemstobelargelymadeupofwillingdupesandterroristsympathizers.Theywouldneverputitthatway,ofcourse.Intheirminds,they’rejustonthesideof“theoppressed.”InHaniyeh’scase,hewasoppressedtothetuneofanestimatedthreebilliondollarshe’dskimmedoffofWesternrelieffundsfortheArabsofGaza.