Snapped Shot

Well, finally. Nearly a month after the conflict between Israel and Hezbullah has ended, the news wires finally give us some glimpses of some of the distruction caused by Hezbullah's unguided, ball-brearing-filled rockets.

Too little, too late, guys. If you genuinely wanted to be fair, you would've sent these photos over the wires a month ago.

We're also learning from these captions that Amnesty International has suggested that Hezbullah may have committed war crimes by targeting civilians deliberately.

Hello? Any mention of their hiding behind civilians would be nice.

"The scale of Hizbullah's attacks on Israeli cities, towns and villages, the indiscriminate nature of the weapons used, and statements from the leadership confirming their intent to target civilians, make it all too clear that Hizbullah violated the laws of war," said Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan.

That's funny. Hezbullah admits to deliberately targeting civilians, yet they're still received as the de-facto spokesmen for Lebanon, while the press continues to bray about Israeli "abuses."

Check the article out if you want to see some photos of fairly extensive damage in Israel that the press hasn't seen fit to publish so far. The running tally is currently something like this:

"Damage and Destruction" in Lebanon: 5,000 photographs.
In Israel? 5 photographs.

Great objectivity, guys. Continue reading »

Our dear friends on the wires have recently committed the sin of omission, when covering Israeli protests against the government's "behavior" in Lebanon. We're told by the Associated Press that these pictures are "reserve soldiers and activists" who are protesting "the Israeli leadership's performance during the fighting." What does the AP want us to believe? That these people are against the war, and that they are calling for Israel to hold its leaders accountable for starting war.

The reality, as usual, isn't so simple. What these reservists, according to Yoni the Blogger, are actually doing, is protesting Israel's lack of preparedness in the recent conflict with Hezbullah. The signs they're holding contain no anti-war messages. The protesters are not against what's happened in Lebanon. They merely want the army equipped with the material and provisions it needs to complete its mission successfully. So, instead of being an anti-Israeli protest against the war, these protesters are actually supporting the IDF against the ineffective and indecisive civilian leaders.

No wonder the protests weren't given more media coverage!
Continue reading »

The caption for the left picture reads:

An Israeli soldier flashes a V for victory sign after receiving orders to stop firing into south Lebanon, along the Israel-Lebanon border, in the early hours. Faced with another Middle East crisis, American Jews have rallied to collect donations for Israel, although some in the community argue that funds should also be sent to war-ravaged Lebanon for aid its reconstruction.(AFP/David Furst)

And on the right, we're treated to:

Lebanese children sit atop a pick up truck as they flash V-signs and wave Hezbollah flags as hundreds of cars with displaced Lebanese returning to southern Lebanon, wait in line to pass the destroyed bridge of Zahrani that was attacked by Israeli warplanes during the month-long operations, south of the port city of Sidon, Monday, Aug. 14, 2006. Thousands of cars flooded Lebanon's bombed out highways heading south within an hour of a U.N. cease-fire taking hold, and Lebanese army troops scrambled to repair roads in time for the deluge of refugees returning home. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Ok. So there's nothing unusual about having a war in which both sides claim victory, and in a conflict that's as long-running as this one, I don't think we can expect anything different. But notice the differences in these photos: The Israelis are portrayed as dark, ominous invaders claiming victory, presumably against a civilian populace. Furthermore, our leftist photographer has taken the effort to declare that some in the Jewish community would rather see aid go to Lebanon than to Israel.

On the other hand, we see the cheerful Lebanese holding up the same sign, but for some reason, the photographer chose not to identify it explicitly as an indication of the Lebanese claiming victory. And, of course, while the photographer notes that these civilians are waving Hezbullah flags, he doesn't find it worth mentioning that this is the flag of a terrorist group (PDF).

Once again, I ask:—How does the press expect Israel to fairly fight a terrorist group that wears no uniform, and blends into the civilian population this closely; much less, without injuring and killing the civilians that Hezbullah is hiding amongst? If Israel is condemned for the deaths of "innocent civilians," why is there no condemnation aimed at Hezbullah when their "rockets" kill Israeli civilians?

Most importantly—will the press change its story once Hezbullah has once again reneged on this cease-fire?

(And, in case you're still wondering why Hezbullah is claiming this as a victory, I highly recommend you read up on the Islamic practice of "Hudna"—or, negotiating cease-fires to have time to rebuild your army and attack again. The West will never defeat terrorism until it starts understanding it.)