By Brenda Heard, Arab Media Watch member and co-founder of Friends of Lebanon.

29 September 2008

Here is the BBC account of what happened in Syria on Saturday 27 September 2008. “Syrian car bomb attack kills 17”. Another car bomb. The Middle East. The reporters worked fast and furious to set the speculation game in motion.

Such acts of violence are deplorable. People at the wrong place at the wrong time are sacrificed to someone else's political ploy. And then they are sacrificed to the media. The dead are counted and the injured are turned into tabloid teasers. Add in a few sound bites from the political pundits, and the media is ready to play Chinese Whispers.

While more even-handed than some media, the report linked above is, unfortunately, typical of most. Obviously, facts will be few in the first hours after such an incident, but no need to file a short "report."

The site of the bomb? Well, it was "on the outskirts of Syria's capital Damascus." But that would be too simple. Let the whispers begin: the "blast happened near buildings used by security forces at an intersection leading to an important Shia shrine." A moment to reflect, and then, "on the road to the international airport to the south of the capital, in an area crowded with civilians." Not just any civilians, remember, because they just could have been in the area (well, shall we say extended area) because the bomb site was "some 8km (5 miles) from the al-Sayyida Zeinab shrine, one of Syria's holiest sites and a popular place of pilgrimage for Iraqi, Iranian and Lebanese Muslims." And it was the road to the international airport...implications?

The insinuation, then, is that these pilgrims could have been the intended victims, or even the perpetrators, as though the queue from the shrine stretched out 5 miles' worth of targets. Or suspects. But what about those "buildings used by security forces"? Well, they were nearby, but they "suffered little damage." But maybe the security complex could have been the target, after all, as it "reportedly houses a directorate of the intelligence services that deals with Palestinian militants and political activists." Reportedly. Reported by whom, one has to ask. But those activists are surely dealt with. Or perhaps the activists are really all militants who do not want to be dealt with at all. The possibilities abound.

No one claimed responsibility. But there is always a pundit on hand to label the incident a "terrorist act." Cue for media reporter to list all the alleged "terrorists" connected, no matter how remotely. Let us see, there is the 1986 Damascus bombing "blamed on Iraqi agents," and then a month later a whole "series of bombings," the perpetrators of which "were believed to be pro-Iraqi militants." Moving up a few years to February 2008, there was the assassination in Damascus of a senior Hezbollah military commander. While some "blamed Israel for the blast," this report is quick to point out that "Israel denied any involvement," a benefit of the doubt not afforded to the accused "Iraqi agents."

It took a BBC "Middle East analyst" to surmise that "although there will be a great deal of speculation about who was behind this latest attack, one area the authorities are reported to be looking at is the possibility that it was the work of Islamist militants. There were similar attacks before the authorities moved strongly against by Islamist groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, during the 1980s [sic]."

The implication? Never mind what others speculate, the "authorities" (sounds more credible than "nameless bureaucrats") are hot on the trail of Islamists (which you cannot say without hissing). Well, they are reported to be looking at the possibility. This analyst was leaving the back door open - after all, these "similar attacks" were over 20 years ago. But to justify the connection, this analyst asserts in a cloud of conjecture, hollow words and innuendo that: "In recent years, there have been some reported clashes, with the security forces killing several suspected Islamist militants, and arresting hundreds more. There has also been recent unrest involving Islamist prisoners in Syrian jails." 

Having trouble connecting the dots? The BBC correspondent is here to help. You see, Syria is deemed to be at the proverbial "political crossroads." Syria, notes our correspondent, has revealed its "new-found willingness to talk" to Israel, with whom "it has been at war since its neighbour's [Israel's] foundation in 1948," (A 60-year war, and Palestine gets all the headlines?) The tie-in? ChineseWhispers. “There are still tensions between the Syrians and Israelis, our correspondent says. Divisive issues include Syrian support for groups like the Palestinian Islamist movements, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah." Remember the Shia shrine? The security complex dealing with Palestinian militants?

And just in case you are having trouble holding all this conjecture together, you are offered the seemingly related item that "in as-yet unexplained circumstances," Syria's "main interlocutor" in a "UN inquiry into the country's alleged nuclear activities" was shot dead a couple months ago. And his death would delay the UN inquiry. Well, then, that certainly clears up the issue of this car bombing. 

A US State Department spokesman immediately "condemned the bombing and all terrorist actions," and then closed its consular office in Damascus "because of security concerns." Concerns for the staff, evidently, not for the US citizens in Syria whom the consulate is meant to serve.

Car bombs are rare in Syria, it is pointed out by the BBC correspondent in Beirut (does the BBC not have one in Damascus?). Syria, she says, will be disturbed by the deadly bomb because it "prides itself on stability," and this stability "comes at the price of democracy." Does that mean the bombing is a tool of a functioning democracy? That Syria is not democratic? So it deserves a good car bomb or two?

Threats to democracy. Alleged nuclear activities. Islamist militants. Terrorist acts. The BBC invites you to join its game of Chinese Whispers. Anyone can play. Just send in your speculations on the handy form beneath the BBC report: "Are you in Damascus? Have you been affected by the explosion, or have you seen or heard anything? Send your comments or pictures...."