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Subject: Debka--How credible is it?
scholar    10/8/2004 3:00:08 PM
I'm sure I'm not the only one here who reads it. The question is, how much credibility should we give it? I'd appreciate your thoughts.
 
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swhitebull    RE:Debka--How credible is it?   10/8/2004 3:11:28 PM
Ive been reading it for about 3 years - there have been discussion on the Israeli board before. I used to be a staunch supporter of them - and still read it religioiusly every day. BUT... They have an agenda Their thrust is that Sharon isnt doing enough to protect israelis They are composed of more conservative than liberal intel and military wonks (k,inda like SP posters in general) That being said, I feel their take on local politics and the Israeli-Pali conflict gels with what I read independently; Their analysis of events outside their immediate region is nebulous at times; They tend to verge on paranoia, seeing Arafat's hands, and links with Teheran and al-Qaeda everywhere (well, it's true, but even paranoids are correct) They DO have in-depth commentary that makes sense; In the immortal words of The Gipper - Trust, but Verify. I try to verify many of their claims thru independent research from other sources. I'd give their predictive abilities about a 50% success rate - toss a coin. swhitebull - for what it's worth, the board's editors do NOT put a lot of stock in Debka claims as to accuracy and reliablity. That should tell you a lot right there.
 
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scholar    RE:Debka--How credible is it?   10/8/2004 4:17:31 PM
Did you read that recent bit about foiling France's plans to block the US, with the US bombing the caravan with the two French hostages? If I get a moment I'll look up the link....
 
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Shirrush    RE: 10% more than pravda.ru but way less entertaining.   10/8/2004 4:55:29 PM
Scholar, the story about Julia's antics in Iraq is a wee bit more credible at debka.co.il that at lemonde.fr, methinks. Debka is, however, not noted for credibility or it's commitment to the Truth. F'rinstance, debka ran a story about Saddam's troops invading eastern Jordan in early 2002, and the Jordanians having a hard time repelling them because of the Iraqi advantage in airpower, of all things, while USOCOM troops were reported to be engaged in active fighting deep inside Mesopotamia then. Now how believable was that? I keep reading debka's reports knowing that they all must be taken with a pallet of salt, not just a mere grain, and although they sometimes have some stories before the rest of the Israeli press does, it is clear they also have a definite right-wing agenda, probably as far right as the West Bank judeofascist monarchists you're so well acquainted with.
 
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American Kafir    RE: 10% more than pravda.ru but way less entertaining.   10/8/2004 5:07:18 PM
Funny that you mention pravda.ru ;-) Have you ever done a WHOIS search on debka.com's host servers? ----- Registrant: DEBKAfile Ltd. (YILHAKEZQD) 4, Hamaapilim St. Jerusalem 92545 IL Domain Name: DEBKA.COM Administrative Contact, Technical Contact: DEBKAfile Ltd. (MYSZMRQMIO) gedit@debka.com 4, Hamaapilim St. Jerusalem 92545 IL +972-2-566-6882 fax: +972-2-567-0038 Record expires on 28-May-2007. Record created on 28-May-2000. Bulk whois optout: Y Database last updated on 8-Oct-2004 17:06:27 EDT. Domain servers in listed order: NS.DEBKA.COM 209.217.52.139 NS.SPTIMES.RU NS4.THEMOSCOWTIMES.COM 213.152.145.16 ----- As the now famous Swhitebull said, "Trust, but verify..."
 
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scholar    RE: 10% more than pravda.ru but way less entertaining.   10/8/2004 5:18:19 PM
I'm not sure I trust anything that comes out of Russia, except perhaps for a kalashnikov.
 
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scholar    monarchists   10/8/2004 5:24:46 PM
LOL. I never thought of it, but I guess messianic types are technically monarchists (ie ha melekh ha-mashiach) intent on restoring the House of David. But few of the loonies I hung out with were really messianic, just fascists or crazies. My favorite was a woman who's husband was serving a life term for machine gunning an Arab university campus (this was way back), and she calmly told me that she was delighted because now he could "learn" full time. I even spent an afternoon with Kahane (who was trying to talk me into going to yeshiva). He taught me an important lesson: extremists are seductive precisely because they make the most sense. He was the only one I met in Israel who had straight, logical, rational even, answers concerning Arabs. The Likudniks didn't. They had no answers back then (the 1980s and early 90s) other than expressing their preference for the status quo.
 
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Final Historian    RE:monarchists   10/8/2004 6:24:52 PM
I agree with SW, when it comes to local stuff, Debka is probably right more than half the time. But their foreign stuff is iffy at best, and sometimes I can't help but think it is dis-information at worst. Their russian connections are unsurprising, many Israelis have Russian roots. Generally, I keep them in my "possibility" frame of mind.
 
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swhitebull    RE:Debka--How credible is it?   10/8/2004 7:10:22 PM
..Did you read that recent bit about foiling France's plans to block the US, with the US bombing the caravan with the two French hostages? If I get a moment I'll look up the link... Ive read it - knowing what we know about the french, THAT i could believe!! swhitebull
 
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swhitebull    RE: 10% more than pravda.ru but way less entertaining.   10/8/2004 7:14:40 PM
..As the now famous Swhitebull said, "Trust, but verify..." .... FOr those that don't know, I got a reference to my UN Resolution dissertation from National Review's The Corner - Jonah Goldberg , linking to my StrategyPage articles. I've been receiving requests for info all day on that!!! swhitebull
 
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stratego    RE:Debka--How credible is it?   10/8/2004 8:42:47 PM
Thanks for new addition to my Favorites list.
 
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appleciderus    RE:Debka--How credible is it?   10/10/2004 7:36:46 PM
Is Debka any less credible than the NY Times? CBS? ABC? Newsday? Have any of the major networks covered in depth the bombing in Sinai? IMO they have not because it could remind voters that terrorism is a factor in this election and any discussion would strengthen Bush. Have any of the major media covered in depth the re-election of Australian PM Howard? I think it would have been front-page news if he had lost, with headlines proclaiming, "Australians repudiate Bush". Debka often reports things that US media ignore. Perhaps discussing the credibility of US media would be more appropriate, considering the inaccuracies, misstatements and false information delivered to a far larger audience than Debka could ever hope to have.
 
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Final Historian    RE:Debka--How credible is it?   10/10/2004 7:42:25 PM
The problem when dealing with intelligence related matters is that you often don't know the truth until well after the fact.
 
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appleciderus    RE:Debka--How credible is it?   10/10/2004 9:11:26 PM
You do if you manufacture the truth.
 
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