For Arabic speakers, above is an interview I did today for Al Jadeed (Lebanon) about my reporting on the Israeli attack on Beirut. You can find the segment devoted to my story at 24:45.
Aftermath of destruction
Robert Baer, one of the CIA’s most distinguished Middle East analysts, did an interview with CNN about the Beirut attack. In it, he confirmed an essential piece of the story I’ve been reporting. While others have speculated that the first blast which triggered the following devastating explosion in the ammonium nitrate warehouse consisted of fireworks, Baer closely reviewed the video and says it clearly was “munitions:”
Baer said he thinks that there were military munitions and propellants present. He speculated it could have been a weapons cache, but it’s unclear who it belongs to.
“It was clearly a military explosive,” he said. “It was not fertilizer like ammonium nitrate. I’m quite sure of that. You look at that orange ball (of fire), and it’s clearly…a military explosive.”
Baer noted that white powder seen in the videos of the incident before the major blast are likely an indicator that ammonium nitrate was present and burning. He also noticed a lot of munitions going off ahead of the larger explosion…
“It almost looks like an accident,” he said. “It was incompetence, and maybe it was corruption, but the question is whether it was military explosives, who was it going to or why was it stored there?”
Baer isn’t confident we’ll ever know the truth.
“I’ve worked in Lebanon for years, and no one is going to want to admit they kept military explosives at the port. It’s a stupid thing to do.”
There are several critical elements to Baer’s interview: first, he confirms that the initial spark that set off the most deadly explosion was caused by the ignition of military explosives. Second, he concedes that an unknown party was storing such munitions at the port. Third, he explains why Hezbollah, the party I contend was responsible, would vehemently deny it was responsible in any way for the catastrophe.
I spoke yesterday to a Lebanese journalist and asked him if it was possible Hezbollah had a presence at the port. He said certainly they did and at the airport as well. But he said that if there had been such a weapons cache at the port, the militant group would have done a forensic clean-up to eliminate any traces of what had been there before the attack. It was clear to him that as it is to me that Hezbollah would be mortified that it’s carelessness wrought such devastation on the city; and deathly afraid of exposure.
In another major development, Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun announced that the state would be examining the possible role of “external actors” in the explosion:
“The cause has not been determined yet. There is a possibility of external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act,” Aoun said in comments carried by local media and confirmed by his office.
He said he had asked French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Beirut on Thursday, “to secure aerial images to determine what happened and if the French do not have them, we will request them from another source.”
…Aoun said the probe would be conducted in three parts: “First, how the explosive material entered and was stored … second whether the explosion was a result of negligence or an accident … and third the possibility that there was external interference.”
…The source familiar with the initial investigation said a fire had started at port warehouse 9 on Tuesday and spread to warehouse 12, where the ammonium nitrate was stored.
Of course, it is critical to determine what was in warehouse 9 and who had control of it. Despite the massive destruction there, forensic investigators–were they permitted to visit the site–could determine this. But Hezbollah, if it were involved in the manner my source has claimed, would do its utmost to prevent this.
This is a critical new piece of evidence indicating that the country’s leadership is now prepared to abandon former claims that the tragedy was an accident or that an accidental explosion in a fireworks factory caused it. That was always a flimsy reed on which to hang this entire catastrophe.
None of this offers a smoking gun which decisively proves the accuracy of yesterday’s report. But it becomes part of a network of circumstantial evidence which buttresses the case. I referred to another critical piece in that post which I want to emphasize: Gideon Levy, one of Haaretz’s most courageous columnists not only linked to my post in his column yesterday, he went as far as he could without violating military censorship in pointing out that Israel had motive, means and opportunity to commit this vile crime.
Most skeptics regarding this story are hung up on the grant of confidentiality I gave my source. Many do not understand the danger that such an individual faces in a national security state. It is not my right to put such a person in danger in any fashion. And if I reveal more than I have, I would certainly be doing that. For those who may not be aware, a decade ago an FBI translator, Shamai Leibowitz, became my secret source for classified information he leaked to me about Israel’s campaign for Iran regime change in the U.S. The Justice Department later exposed him and he went to prison. No journalist wants such a terrible fate on their conscience.
‘Fan mail’ from my many ‘admirers’
What I can say beyond what I already have, is that my source is a professional with access to Israeli officials. One of the latter gave this information to him.
Others doubting Israeli involvement claim that because the Beirut port is in a Christian neighborhood, Hezbollah would not maintain a warehouse there. Certainly, the port is in a Christian neighborhood. But the port is a facility serving the entire country and, as I’ve written here, a Lebanese journalist confirmed to me that the militant group has a presence at the port. Keep in mind that Hezbollah is the most powerful political and military force in the country. If it wants to maintain a weapons storage facility somewhere, it will do so, wherever that location may be.
The claim regarding fireworks causing the initial explosion or that they were in the warehouse with the ammonium nitrate is not significant. As Pres. Aoun said, the initial explosion occurred in warehouse 9 not the building containing the ammonium nitrate, stored in warehouse 12. Fireworks may have exploded at some point along with the fertilizer. But as Robert Baer said, “military munitions” caused the initial blast, not fireworks.
The response to my Beirut bombing post has been both heartening and disheartening. There have been 225,000 unique visitors in the past 48 hours. That’s many orders of magnitude higher than any daily site-visitation I’ve ever had. There are 40,000 Facebook likes and hundreds of Twitter RTs and comments.
On social media, progressive Jews and Israelis with whom I [thought I] shared allyship have turned and derided my reporting. It makes you realize who your friends really are. And who is a false ally who’s betrayed your trust. I’ve been excoriated by erstwhile progressive Jews as in league with anti-Semites and white supremacists. Others on the left have labeled the piece “bullshit” and unfriended me. Yet others, see malevolent motives and allude to unspecified character flaws they’ve detected in me. The screenshot below gives a taste of some of the less-guarded responses.
To anyone in the above categories, I could care less. In fact, there is a certain cleansing benefit in shedding them. And those who’ve engaged in that sort of personal gutter sniping, I’m banishing from my platforms. That stuff distracts from what’s important and I don’t want it to interfere. The work is what’s important. Not me or what you think of me or your theories about who I am or why I haven’t met your personal standards. The work will stand the test of time. The derision will fall by the wayside.
I want to thank those who’ve reposted my piece and who’ve stood by it and me.
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Dear Richard Silverstein,
I have perused your blog for years, In general I do not agree with your politics but I have respect for your reporting, When it comes to facts you have a good track record.
Now your story this time makes both hezbolah and Israel look really bad. What partisan could possibly accept this news!
In any case you have my respect.
Chris Hunter is a real demolitions expert, certified ‘expert’ by the STL in The Hague, and Hunter’s observations and opinions contradicts the retried CIA analyst, Baer.
https://news.sky.com/story/beirut-explosion-five-things-we-can-learn-from-video-footage-and-eyewitness-accounts-12042601
Also, Baer says that the cause of the explosion was likely, “an accident”; no evidence of an attack.
Major Chris Hunter QGM — Former Bomb Disposal Expert, Author, and Broadcaster …
Robert Baer, Richard Clarke and the upper echelons of the Intelligence Community will never be trusted by me, not ever!
Just like 9/11 was an “accident” waiting to happen, I’m afraid so was the blast in Beirut. Incompetence breeds disasters, dark forces will always look at the weaknesses of its foe to strike. The cover-up is more than well prepared.
Chris Hunter is to my knowledge not a chemical expert, nor can I find a link to the STL and the Hariri bomb blast. The STL has a poor track record from the false start with Mehlis … more than shameful. Same with the OPCW in Syria once independence is replaced by political allegiance.
Sky News is a rag just like any Murdoch enterprise, not to be trusted. Each and every news item has to be fully scrutinized.
I too have watched and listened to experts on the AN explosion, and do agree the reddish colour combination reflects nitrate in correct order of sequence.
The initial fire and explosions reflect a munition depot and not fireworks. Trajectory is a straight line. Hunter denies the munitions depot evidence.
The Tragic Physics of the Deadly Explosion in Beirut | Wired |
Obviously you care what your fans think of you. I still think you a valuable source, an essential opinion with which I see eye to eye more often than not, if not at all. I don’t care for the use of the word “loyalist” moreso since Trump. People have to use their own brains. You of course have to defend at this point. I respect Levy’s work. But Levy is just injecting the same doubt using you…. perhaps to pry more info.
Your first report injected doubt into the assumption that this was an accident.I took that suggestion face value. Everyone else is saying accident but investigation needed. At this moment I don’t see anything that confirms or even suggests that this was a deliberate attack. I cannot imagine why Hezbollah or Israeli agents would cause such a catastrophe.I can imagine why both would hide this for sure. But that does not prove a positive, if we will ever have one. I’ll stick with there is plenty of blame. Who lit the match and whether it was on purpose or not expecting such a catastrophe remains the question for me and many others I believe. (This could have been the work of a loner.)
@Oui
“..dark forces will always look at the weaknesses of its foe to strike. The cover-up is more than well prepared.”
By ‘strike’, I assume you mean an attack; an attack that nobody, not even Baer, alleges.
Port security saw that the door of the warehouse had been damaged, and welders were dispatched to repair the door of the warehouse the same afternoon as the explosion.
Reasonably minded people would say that the welders accidentally began a fire in the warehouse that caused flammable materials to ‘popcorn’.
Small, bright explosions can be seen in the air, and at ground level, giving fair minded people reason to believe fireworks were involved. What’s Baer’s explanation for the low-explosive ‘pop corning’?
Maybe shipping containers packed with munitions, paint cans, chemicals or fireworks, blew up like a giant pipe bomb and caused the unstable AN nearby to detonate.
Does anyone really think Mossad sappers, operating in broad daylight, went about their dark business unnoticed by Port security and repairman at this busy port?
Do you really think Mossad sappers would have to resort to prising open a warehouse door?
There was a similar event in Tanjin (China) where 800 Tons of ammonium nitrate exploded.
If you take a look at the fireball, it looks quite identical to the one of Beirut.
https://youtu.be/4fjrCn39kk4
The site of the demolished harbor also looks very similar to the Beirut harbor.
Another Iran gambit by the Reagan acolytes?
Elliott Abrams replaces Brian Hook as Trump’s top Iran envoy.
There is still time for an October surprise … no holds barred.
Trump Blasted for Naming ‘War Criminal’ and Iran-Contra Convict Elliott Abrams as Iran Envoy
Aoun: We do not know the cause of the Beirut explosion, and it could have been caused by a missile or a bomb
https://www.alquds.co.uk/عون-لا-نعرف-سبب-انفجار-بيروت-وقد-يكون-ب/
I don’t read Arabic, so any arguments listed for such a statement or leaving all options open awaiting the investigation?
Update on the Letfallah II investigation – Report UNSC in 2014 ..,
Syrian citizens based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia funded the shipment of weapons and munitions loaded in Misrata, Lybia with destination Tripoli, Lebanon … a Sunni enclave and port to support rebel fighters in Syria.
Were these crates sitting in the warehouse next to 2750 tons AN and its explosion detonated the storage of warehouse #12??
@ Limey:
That’s not at all what Baer said. Go to the CNN interview and read it. If you did that go back and spend more time reading it again. He acknowledges there may have been an accident, but certainly leaves open the possibility that this was an attack. BTW, arms caches stored by professional military as Hezbollah is don’t usually have ‘accidents.’
No further comments in this thread.
@ Limey:
By reasonably minded people you mean pro Israel apologists like you. Which isn’t “reasonable minded” at all. A guy who used to work at the port claims he spoke to people who now work at the port who said that welders worked in some unspecified place in the vicinity of the explosion. From there we jump to a spark set off the explosion. Those are huge leaps of faith…and frankly I have no faith in you or the story.
Again, you didn’t read Baer’s statement about the video he saw which explained the contents of the explosion as he saw it and which is consistent with what he knows about explosives. He has 30 year experience working in the Middle East for the CIA. What do you have?
First, the Mossad doesn’t operate in Lebanon. You’d know that if you knew anything about Israeli intelligence matters. Apparently, you don’t. Second, there is no such thing as a Mossad sapper.
But returning to your nonsense: No, no one thinks that. I don’t think that. I never said that. But you DID say it. So you’re the only one who wants to bring up such rubbish. Israel would have scores of covert ways it could cause an explosion in a warehouse. And it’s doubtful it would use an Israeli operative to do this. Israel probably has hundreds of Lebanese spies it’s recruited inside the country. It probably has spies within Hezbollah (which we know because the group periodically announces it has arrested some of its officials for precisely this reason). That’s how I would do it if I were in Israeli intelligence (which thankfully I’m not).
Attacking Iran Starting In Lebanon
<em>
Dispute public pressure to keep him behind bars, Amer Fakhoury, 57, was released by Lebanon’s military tribunal, and was airlifted two days later by a US marine helicopter from the US embassy in Lebanon to the United States.
Fakhoury was arrested shortly after his arrival in the country last September on a family visit after spending nearly two decades in the US. He holds dual citizenship.
“Today we are bringing home another American citizen… he is battling late stage cancer. I am very grateful to the Lebanese government,” said US president Donald Trump.</em>
So Donald Trump a blabber mouth on intelligence said “it was an attack.”
So these are the welding guys doing maintenance ??? I see two hammers and a chisel …
Elijah Magnier
https://ejmagnier.com/2020/08/07/the-beirut-explosion-who-is-responsible/
Sanitized copy – release 2012-02-16
Lebanon’s Ports: Gateways for Instability and Terrorism (CIA 1986)
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP87T01127R001201150001-7.pdf
The gasfields conflict between libanon and israel: the destruction of the port of libanon would that be an advantage for Israel? The shipment of 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate was organized from Cyprus and Officially the destination was not Beirut.