snapped shot

Soccer Dad points out that AFP is using particularly glowing language to describe Hezbullah's latest conquest in Beirut:

Shiite gunmen guard pro-government detainees in west Beirut on May 9, 2008. Hezbollah fighters, their guns blazing, seized control of west Beirut after three days of street battles with pro-government foes pushed Lebanon dangerously close to all-out civil war. The sectarian fighting had eased by early afternoon and the army and police moved across areas now in the hands of Iranian-backed Shiite opposition forces who routed Sunni militants loyal to the Western-backed government. AFP PHOTO/HASSAN IBRAHIM (Photo credit should read HASSAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images)

"Pro-government" foes conquered Beirut with "their guns blazing?"

Does that mean that Agence France-Presse is against the lawfully-elected Lebanese government?

A Blog for All asks if Western news stringers operating in Beirut today are enemy embeds. The answer to that is twofold:—For starters, all of the photographers that are covering this week's events live there, so they're essentially covering their home turf. However, Hezbullah has been going through plenty of effort to censor photographers that are "unfriendly" to the group, and has shut down media outlets that are run by the opposition, so the remaining photographers aren't exactly enemy "embeds," as much as they are enemy-vetted.

By the way, I still haven't heard a single word of condemnation issued by Reuters against the brutal treatment shown to its employees by the terrorist militia. Yet, if Israel were even remotely thought to have been involved, I'm sure the press releases would've been flying before the photos even hit the wires.

One wonders why Hezbullah feels it needs to even bother with censorship of the press, considering how friendly to the group the media already are.

A certain shoemaker is going to be very happy with the prominent product placement in this wire photograph:

Charles Malik has details on Hezbullah's takeover of the Lebanese press:

Hezbollah has taken control of the media in Lebanon, and their propaganda campaign has already begun. They are currently presenting themselves as liberators of Lebanon, and allies of the Lebanese Army against a corrupt government supported by pro-government snipers and brigrands.

Hezbollah's militant takeover of Beirut and its systematic destruction of the authority of the state and freedom of the press suggests a sophisticated and planned campaign to take power. There is no hiding the violence Hezbollah used to seize Beirut and cut it off from the rest of the country. But as their media campaign is already showing, Hezbollah is employing subtle and sophisticated mechanisms to take over the rest of Lebanon. All news which could be construed as negative behaviors, such as the blatant destruction and corruption of Lebanese institutions, is hidden beneath a Hezbollah-dominated media blackout.

No one knows if Hezbollah is currently occupying government building, re-routing the telecommunications networks, placing weapons in areas they could not gain access to before, and more. If Hezbollah wins this battle, this information will never be made public.

And it certainly won't be made public by the Western press, which is already quite sympathetic to Hezbullah:

Al Jazeera is claiming that Hezbollah has made a "concession" by opening the airport road. As was told to me by a veteran Lebanese reporter, all of the journalists and news agencies reporting right now have been vetted by Hezbollah. Even if the news is true, it is written to present Hezbollah's actions as gracious.

The servants of the master celebrate in Beirut:

A Hezbollah gunman poses as he flashes a victory sign after putting up posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and taking over of an office of the Future group loyal to Saad al-Hariri Majority leader, in the Rass al-Naba'a area in Beirut May 9, 2008. Hezbollah gunmen took control of large areas of Beirut on Friday in a third day of fighting between the pro-Iranian group and fighters loyal to the U.S.- backed governing coalition. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)

It would seem that Hezbullah is winning the Battle of Beirut—Will this be the second time that this poor city falls to a band of ruthless thugs?

They've managed to run members of Parliament that were hostile to them out of town, and Jeha has written a very eloquent analysis of the stakes of the game. He's also updated his maps to illustrate the current state of affairs in downtown Beirut.

The Lebanese Forces, for whatever reason, don't seem to be willing to stand up and fight the Iranian-backed bullies so far. If things remain the way they are right now, the outcome is as inevitable as it ever has been.

Update: Photographic evidence that Hezbullah is taking the Hamas approach to coups? More photos here.

Charles Malik has more on Hezbullah's non-coup in Beirut:

Hezbollah has no interest in ruling other sects or doing the day to day management of Lebanon. Their goal is simply to get whatever they want from the Lebanese state, which is exactly what has happened for the last few years. Of course, this means that no other sect or group gets to do what they want.

The Lebanese government and people (including the Shia) should never, according to Hezbollah, do anything that impinges on Hezbollah's actions, or which might cause negative repercussions to Hezbollah's allies in Syria and Iran.

If Hezbollah decides to take actions which negatively affect Lebanese citizens - for example, starting a war with Israel that creates massive destruction, all other Lebanese must keep their mouths shut and allow Hezbollah to do whatever it decides is the best route forward. After the war, Hezbollah will kindly rebuild Hezbollah infrastructure, provide social welfare to their most loyal supporters in the Shia sect, and maybe throw pennies at the rest of us. However, they will expect the rest of us not to complain about the war, destruction, or the pittance they provide for us after the war (if we are even alive), and blame everything that happened on the Zionist enemy and the American conspiracy against Lebanon, which are the only reasons why bad things happen here.

For a bunch of "brave warriors," Hezbullah sure does behave like a bunch of spoiled 4-year-old girls, don't they?