Army Corrects Assafir: Officers Did NOT Object To Promotion

Assafir’s “scoops” are turning out to be nothing but empty propaganda wishlists.

This morning, the pro-opposition newspaper Assafir ran a story which alleged that Army officers were refusing promotions given to them by the Seniora government. Naturally, the subtext of the story was that the Army -a respectable institution- was not ok with Mr. Seniora’s using presidential powers.

Even Naharnet, the vanguard March 14 website, believed and ran Assafir’s story. But as today’s flat Army denial shows, the story is totally false.

The Seniora cabinet had held a session to sign resolutions previously turned down by ex-President Emile Lahoud. Those included crucial measures like the payment of retirement money to government officials and belated promotions. 

As falsehoods often do, Assafir’s story backfired. The Army’s rebuttal included a reference to “H.E. Mr. Seniora”, the very point Assafir wanted to undermine.