Another Conspiracy Myth Exposed

Remember this from Melanie Phillips (as well as others on the nutter right):

Zombietime's claims are "not proven" so end of story. The Lebanese Red Cross claims were not only "not proven" but, for anyone using eyes and a brain, were inherently implausible - and yet the Guardian (and many other media outlets) reported them as fact.

Of course, Mel was talking about the conspiracy theory surrounding the ambulance that was hit by a missile in Lebanon. Mel, like many others on the right, seemed to believe that this was all part of some grand, elaborate Islamic conspiracy to undermine Israel. The truth is, like most conspiracy theories, it was totally bonkers and paranoid in the extreme. If ever anymore proof was needed of the paranoia that consumes the right (a clear sign that they are struggling to win the arguments, particularly given Iraq), Human Rights Watch has provided it. They have released a report confirming what all sane people already knew. This was not an elaborate conspiracy, it was fact. The report states:

This second on-the-ground investigation of the July 23 ambulance attack in Qana, which relied on a review of physical evidence and eyewitness accounts, has confirmed and reinforced Human Rights Watch's view that the initial account of an Israeli attack on the ambulances was accurate. The attack documented by Human Rights Watch and reported by the international media was no "hoax".

The report also takes apart discrepancies within the 'analysis' of the armchair 'expert'. Unfortunately, the damage is done and the far-right can move on knowing that they have caused sufficient doubt about the incident. They can now happily move on to ever more elaborate conspiracies to divert the attentions of the Daily Mail reading hordes.

You can read the full report here.