snapped shot

I've said that Israel is fighting an enemy which wears no uniform, one which takes comfort in hiding its martial forces behind civilians. I've run across a couple of photographs on Getty Images which illustrate that point very well. (Click on the picture for a clearer view.) Notice this man in the foreground. He appears to have just gotten off of a scooter, and is clearly carrying weapons. Fortunately, the photographer has cleared up his identity in the caption, which reads,

Beirut, LEBANON: A Hezbollah militant stands underneath a picture of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following the UN-brokered ceasefire 14 August 2006 in Beirut's Shiite stronghold southern suburbs, an area frequently targeted by Israeli bombardment. Hezbollah activists today handed out posters claiming victory in the Shiite militant group's conflict against Israel, hours after both sides ended hostilities. AFP PHOTO/Haitham MUSSAWI (Photo credit should read HAITHAM MUSSAWI/AFP/Getty Images)

Ok, so it's now clear: This is a Hezbullah militant. The only sign of a uniform is the camouflage pants he's wearing, and the ammunition belt around his waist.

It's worth mentioning that we have seen very few photographs of dead male "civilians" between the ages of 16 and 40 on the wires. I can't even point to a single example of a photograph showing an adult male body, that hasn't been covered by a sheet! While I don't think the press is hiding these pictures overtly, I'm sure someone at Hezbullah is doing their best to keep images like that off of the wires. First of all, it wouldn't behoove them to have images of men in civilian clothes with war-inflicted wounds. It also helps their cause to know that the press prefers heart-rendering pictures of little, dead children, rather than illustrating for us the nature of the Hezbullah guerilla forces.

Nevertheless, when "civilians" such as the gentleman above are killed by Israel, you can bet that they'll end up on the list of "innocent" civilians murdered by the evil Zionist pigs.

Today's wires seem to be packed full of "fresh" devastation in Hezbullah strongholds. For the record, I've previously said that I don't believe a word of it. In a war-torn area like this, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find the last time that the streets looked normal. It sure wasn't normal last week.

A Lebanese flag flies amid the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardment in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah. Israeli troops, backed by tank units, battled Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon as the United Nations criticized both sides for blocking aid supplies to 120,000 stranded civilians.(AFP/Haitham Mussawi)

I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts that we'll find some of these places looking just as bombed earlier in the summer...