Day After Downplaying Fort Dix Story, MSNBC Trumpets Hezbollah Investigation

A day after downplaying the Fort Dix terror plot story, MSNBC is promoting an NBC-Telemundo investigation into Hezbollah training camps in South America. (see screen capture below jump)

In "Hezbollah builds a Western base," Pablo Gato and Robert Windrem of NBC News report:

An investigation by Telemundo and NBC News has uncovered details of an extensive smuggling network run by Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group founded in Lebanon in 1982 that the United States has labeled an international terrorist organization. The operation funnels large sums of money to militia leaders in the Middle East and finances training camps, propaganda operations and bomb attacks in South America, according to U.S. and South American officials.

U.S. officials fear that poorly patrolled borders and rampant corruption in the Tri-border region could make it easy for Hezbollah terrorists to infiltrate the southern U.S. border. From the largely lawless region, it is easy for potential terrorists, without detection, to book passage to the United States through Brazil and then Mexico simply by posing as tourists.

It's commendable for NBC to investigate Hezbollah's activities and its certainly newsworthy. But it's hard not to be cynical and suspect that the prime real estate on the Web site has mostly to do with marketing an NBC exclusive. After all, why else would MSNBC downplay a thwarted terror plot that's closer to home?