Rules for reporting on the war

Stephen Gowans

...Still, the deception, helped along by the frequent invoking of the red herring of Israel’s right to self defense, is that Hezbollah is attacking Israel. Sure, Israel has a right to self defense, but what does that have to do with this war? Nazi Germany had a right to self defense too, but that didn’t include invading Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the Soviet Union and on and on. The standard operating procedure, where Israel is concerned, is to turn the truth on its head. And the chief truth inverter is the Western media. Rule #1. The "who started it?" rule. It is always the Arabs who attack first, and always Israel that retaliates in self defense. The current Israeli assault on Gaza is attributed to the capture (called a kidnapping) of corporal Gilad Shalit, by a group of Palestinians who tunnelled under the border and attacked an Israeli watchtower. But the day before Shalit’s capture, Israeli forces crossed into Gaza and captured (that’s captured, not kidnapped) a Palestinian doctor and his brother. Israel has kidnapped 64 Hamas members, including cabinet ministers, mayors and legislators. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Rule #2. The terrorism rule. When Arabs kill Israelis, it’s called terrorism. Rule #3. The self defense rule. When Israelis kill Arabs, it’s called self defense. Rule # 4. The reaction of the international community rule. When Israel kills too many civilians all at once, the West calls for restraint. Israel pledges it will take care to limit civilian casualties, then goes about its merry way, blasting apart civilians, blaming the deaths on the militants. "We had to take out the civilians. They were in the way. But we didn’t mean to"...

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