Summoning Nicholas Blanford is a Piece of Theater

Today’s update on the TIME magazine affair:

The Beirut-based correspondent for TIME magazine was summoned Monday by Lebanese authorities over an interview with one of four Hezbollah suspects indicted in the 2005 assassination of statesman Rafik Hariri.

I think it is safe to say that even if Mr. Blanford knew who the interviewer of Hezbollah’s suspect is, he won’t dish a thing. As I’ve said before, he has all the incentives to keep it secret. From what I’ve read so far, I think his strategy for dealing with the interrogation is to stick it to the editors of TIME international. He will do so by

• stressing the Magazine’s credibility
• insisting that TIME didn’t tell him who the interviewer was, and that he was simply assigned to report on the interview’s content.

I’m sure the prosecutor knows this. I’m also sure that he’s not planning on torturing Mr. Blanford for information. So why is he summoning him?

Because P.M. Miqati’s government wants to be seen to be doing all it can to capture the 4 suspects:. Not doing anything about the TIME interview would confirm what was revealed in it: That the government knows where the Hezbollah suspects were but is not doing anything about the matter.