So is this really an airborne massacre on an epic scale? A re-run of Sabra and Shatlia on a larger scale? It’s an interesting question. The wars of the 21st century have so far been fought on rather more complex, multiple levels than was previously imagined. One of the most important aspects of any war these days is the manipulation of the masses by the media.
Whatever the facts happen to be on the ground, on the media manipulation front, the conflict is a massive victory for Hizbullah, especially for its constituency. The BBC news website recently ran an ‘in-pictures’ description of the devastation in Beirut. The place seems to be in complete ruins, but what impressed me the most were the slickly designed signs denouncing Israel on the ruins, complete with a rather snazzy logo describing it as ‘The Divine Victory’.
The logo was repeated in another shot on the yellow ‘restricted area’ tape surrounding another destroyed building. There are several very intriguing lessons to be learnt here. If I have to examine my impressions of Israel having looked at the overall media picture, I would have to say that my sympathy for the Israeli civilian is very low, whereas the Lebanese civilian is depicted as the helpless victim of aggression. Public opinion, at least on the international media front, would appear to be firmly against Israel.
Whatever the facts happen to be on the ground, on the media manipulation front, the conflict is a massive victory for Hizbullah
However, the facts are that thousands of mother’s sons are buried under tons of reinforced concrete and plaster on both sides of the war. Thousands of people have been murdered. Should this happen in the 21st century? Should we accept this? What right do we have, living in the so called civilized west, to form glib opinions on issues that have caused so many people to die? Are we so caught up in our own interests that we’ve forgotten to care? The UN, right now, is trying to enforce a fragile truce, to keep the violent criminals that are Hizbullah away from the Israeli army. Who is suffering?
The Lebanese civilian huddled in a building that might get hit at any minute by an air-strike. Or the Israeli man, sitting in his home, waiting for the Katyushas to come in and explode into a shower of ball bearings. And here is the major defeat of the 20th and 21st century. We have been desensitized to the word ‘casualty’. The huge monolith of the West, this oasis of calm and safety, is populated by people who care about their careers, pay their taxes, and get their news in easily digestible chunks.
No wonder they manipulate our opinions so easily.
I cannot glibly wade into this argument and say ‘Israel is right’. Both sides are using violence to make their point, and that is the one thing that I choose to ignore. Handing out the blame based on historical precedent is also a rather senseless tactic, because history is past, and there is not much that can be said for the history of both Lebanon and Israel.
My contribution to the argument? Stop killing each other, and start talking, because you’ll never wipe each other out.
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