Letters to the Editor
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More anti-semitic propaganda
Yet another anti-Israel article short on facts and long on anti-semitism. I used to expect better from Salon...
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Compare and contrast
This story with the NYT today: "Christians Fleeing Lebanon Denounce Hezbollah," which paints a different picture. Not a necessarily contradictory picture, but a different one.
I have come to the conclusion that it is, in point of fact, impossible to report objectively about the current conflict, and the best we can hope for is multisourcing.
Now, if you will excuse me, the CS Monitor beckons.
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Anti-Semite
Please inform me why the charge of anti-semitism arises whenever there is even a slight bit of challenge to Israel. It is a journalists job to search for truth. Maybe what he/she is saying is true?
I am very opposed to what is going on in Lebanon, but that does not make me anti-semitic!! It makes your argument weak and uninformed as you don't counter it with facts, but more charges of anti-semitisim.
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Different picture, different story
It's a different picture because it's a different story. It's not surprising Christian refugees from Southern Lebanon would denounce Hezbollah nor is it much of a surprise that the "hiding among civilians" stuff is a myth or, more accurately, purposeful propaganda. It is amazing how fast the anti-semitism card was played in an attempt to try and take attention away from the debunking of that line of propaganda.
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First paragraph is evidence against his own conclusion
"The locals knew that the 10-story apartment building had been the office, and possibly the residence, of Sheik Tawouk, the Hezbollah commander for the south, so they had moved their families out at the start of the war."
So, he forces his way into a civilian building after being refused to rent the space, yet someone Hezbollah military doesn't stay in civilian areas.
How do you reconcile this? There are mutually exclusive.
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Weak reply...
"Throughout this now 16-day-old war, Israeli planes high above civilian areas make decisions on what to bomb. They send huge bombs capable of killing things for hundreds of meters around their targets, and then blame the inevitable civilian deaths -- the Lebanese government says 600 civilians have been killed so far -- on "terrorists" who callously use the civilian infrastructure for protection.
But this claim is almost always false. My own reporting and that of other journalists reveals that in fact Hezbollah fighters -- as opposed to the much more numerous Hezbollah political members, and the vastly more numerous Hezbollah sympathizers -- avoid civilians. Much smarter and better trained than the PLO and Hamas fighters, they know that if they mingle with civilians, they will sooner or later be betrayed by collaborators -- as so many Palestinian militants have been. "
You well know the author was using that as an example to illustrate an exception rather than the normal course. It's a standard techniqse. You first give an example of what is, in this case, common propaganda, and then illustrate it's not the norm.
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Flawed Assumptions
The author's entire thesis is that the militia does not reside with civilians, so Israel is wrong to bomb anything in the civilian area. However, I believe Israel is not trying to bomb the militia, but bomb the military arsenal -- launchers, missiles -- which may very well be hidden in civilian areas. In fact, from what I read, Hizbullah hid this arsenal in basemens or even built entire structures, like parking lots, on top of them.
I also couldn't help thinking that if this journalist is so knowledgeable, perhaps he should advise Israelis on how to conduct war with Hizbullah. It's easy to criticize when it's not you who's doing it.
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Prothero, you're full of shit
You yourself write that there's a Hezbollah informant on every street corner. You claim you can't see them. You can't see them because you don't want to see them. In a way, you are similar to a lot of Lebanese who don't want to see them either. They've rationalized the presence of these thugs because Hezbollah poses as the protectors and benifactors of the average Lebanese. It's bullshit. It's like when the Mafia used to patrol the streets of Brooklyn and hand out a little charity to the poor to make themselves look good. But it all comes with a price.
Have no fear Prothero, the Israelis can't dislodge Hezbollah. Only the Lebanese people, when they finally find their balls, can kick these sons of bitches out.
If the Lebanese people don't like artillery and air strikes, they need to go out into the street with small arms, pistols, rifles, and shotguns, and when ever they encounter a Hezbollah thug, they need to start shooting. I know it's easy to say that from here. But I've got some personal experience with guerrilla warfare and I know for a fact that only the local civilian population can put an end to this.
You Prothero, wouldn't know a Hezby if he walked up and gave you a shave. But every neighborhood knows who belongs there and who doesn't. When guys start showing up with a Toyota with some rockets in the back, it's time for the local civilians to make some hard choices.
It may be a scary thing for a bunch of ordinary people to grab their pistols and rifles and start shooting. But the alternative is far worse. If the guerrillas set up in their street and get a couple of Katyushas airborne, it will only be a matter of minutes before Israel's 155 batteries are putting a dozen H.E.s smack in the middle of the neighborhood.
It's like this: If civilians in a neighborhood start making them bleed when they show up, then the morons will pack up and go somewhere less dangerous. If all the neighborhoods get these guys on the run, then Israel will quickly run out of targets and the shelling will stop.
But the Lebanese for some reason would rather just ignore the shadowy thugs who rule their streets. Then when it's over, like you, they blame Israel for the destruction. When civilians finally get pissed off, they are more powerful than any guerrilla force.
It's time for the Lebanese people to get pissed off and get Hezbollah the hell out of their beautiful country once and for all. They threw out Syria, now it's time to finish the job.