Rubio speaks to Lebanon’s Aoun about explosives seized from Hezbollah

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US Secretary of State <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/marco-rubio/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/marco-rubio/">Marco Rubio</a> has urged Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to ensure explosives seized from Hezbollah are not returned to the group, while calling for direct military communication between Lebanon and Israel to reduce the risk of clashes. In a call with Mr Aoun on Thursday, Mr Rubio discussed the confiscation of several hundred kilos of explosives from Hezbollah, a State Department official said.

Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture

The article does not say that a Hezbollah lawmaker acknowledged the explosives and said they were meant for use against Israeli troops occupying Lebanese territory. A reader is left with no account of what the seized explosives were for.

How we know

Al-Monitor reported“Hezbollah had intended to use the explosives against Israel, whose troops are occupying swathes of Lebanese territory”Rubio urges Lebanon to not return confiscated explosives to Hezbollah, US official says (opens in a new tab)

He called for accountability for those who ordered, financed and directed the shipment, and said returning the explosives to Hezbollah should be out of the question. Mr Rubio also criticised Lebanon’s 1955 Boycott Law, which the US official said was used for politicised prosecutions that deter efforts towards peace with Israel. He "emphasised that the law is impractical and urged direct military-to-military communication between Lebanese and Israeli forces for deconfliction", the official said.

Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture

The article never reports that Aoun, on the same call, asked Rubio to pressure Israel to stop attacks on towns and villages in southern Lebanon. Aoun also urged Israel to comply with the framework and to stop targeting farmers. Without this, a reader believes the call was only about Hezbollah's explosives and Lebanon's Boycott Law, and that Lebanon raised no complaint about Israel.

How we know

Arutz Sheva / Israel National News reported“Aoun also called on Washington to pressure Israel to stop military strikes against towns and villages in southern Lebanon”Rubio to Lebanon's President: Confiscated explosives must not be returned to Hezbollah (opens in a new tab)
Reuters reported“Aoun asked Rubio to pressure Israel to halt attacks on southern Lebanese towns and villages”Rubio urges Lebanon to not return confiscated explosives to Hezbollah, US official says (opens in a new tab)

This would help to reduce miscalculation and to advance sequenced implementation of the Trilateral Framework, the official added. Signed in June, the framework sets out a phased process for the Lebanese army to restore state authority and disarm non-state militias including Hezbollah, and for Israel to progressively withdraw from Lebanese territory

Read the original article on thenationalnews.com

What we found (3)

The National reports Marco Rubio's call with Joseph Aoun entirely through a US State Department official's account. It leaves out what Aoun's office said Aoun raised in the same call: a request that Washington press Israel to halt attacks on southern Lebanese towns and villages. A reader comes away thinking the call was a list of US demands on Lebanon, with Israel's continuing strikes and occupation absent from it.

One side gets the space
Minor
“a State Department official said”
Why this matters
The words "a State Department official said" set up the only source the article uses. Every sentence after it repeats what the US official said Rubio told Aoun.
The impression it gives
A reader believes the call ran one way, with Rubio setting out demands and Aoun saying nothing of note.
The context
Aoun's office also gave an account of the call. Reuters and others reported that Aoun said Lebanese forces were confiscating weapons and combating smuggling, and that he asked Rubio to pressure Israel to halt attacks on southern Lebanese towns and villages. The article gives Lebanon's side of its own president's call no space at all.
How we know
- Al-Monitor reported“Aoun asked Rubio to pressure Israel to halt attacks on southern Lebanese towns and villages”Rubio urges Lebanon to not return confiscated explosives to Hezbollah, US official says (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
Leaves out what changes the picture
Minor
What is missing
The article never reports that Aoun, on the same call, asked Rubio to pressure Israel to stop attacks on towns and villages in southern Lebanon. Aoun also urged Israel to comply with the framework and to stop targeting farmers. Without this, a reader believes the call was only about Hezbollah's explosives and Lebanon's Boycott Law, and that Lebanon raised no complaint about Israel.
How we know
- Arutz Sheva / Israel National News reported“Aoun also called on Washington to pressure Israel to stop military strikes against towns and villages in southern Lebanon”Rubio to Lebanon's President: Confiscated explosives must not be returned to Hezbollah (opens in a new tab)
- Reuters reported“Aoun asked Rubio to pressure Israel to halt attacks on southern Lebanese towns and villages”Rubio urges Lebanon to not return confiscated explosives to Hezbollah, US official says (opens in a new tab)
Show where it belongs
Leaves out what changes the picture
Minor
What is missing
The article does not say that a Hezbollah lawmaker acknowledged the explosives and said they were meant for use against Israeli troops occupying Lebanese territory. A reader is left with no account of what the seized explosives were for.
How we know
- Al-Monitor reported“Hezbollah had intended to use the explosives against Israel, whose troops are occupying swathes of Lebanese territory”Rubio urges Lebanon to not return confiscated explosives to Hezbollah, US official says (opens in a new tab)
Show where it belongs

Rubio speaks to Lebanon’s Aoun about explosives seized from Hezbollah

One side gets the space

Leaves out what changes the picture

Leaves out what changes the picture

How other outlets reported it

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