Robert Fisk, ‘Expert’ And French ‘Integrity’
July 27, 2006
“I travel the roads of southern Lebanon every two weeks and there are no such [Hizbullah] missiles, as the UN force there will confirm… Hizbollah resistance… missiles are a myth.”
– Robert Fisk, Chief Middle East correspondent of The (London) Independent newspaper, writing in The Independent on April 15, 2003.
(Fisk was writing after Shimon Peres, who was then Israel’s foreign minister, said Iran had already supplied Hizbullah with at least 8,000 missiles capable of hitting Israeli cities. Since then, Iran has delivered some 6,000 more missiles, as barely reported in the western media for the last four years.)
Over 2,000 Hizbullah rockets have been fired at northern Israel from south Lebanon since last Wednesday. Last night Hizbullah fired more than 50 rockets, including one which hit the hospital in Safed, injuring patients. Another missile hit a synagogue, injuring worshippers.
Robert Fisk is the most beloved Middle East reporter among the international left. His articles are reproduced on left-wing websites throughout the world, as well as on a number of neo-Nazi websites. With his cult following, despite having a record of bias and “mistakes” second to none, he is the Noam Chomsky of reporting, the Edward Said of journalism.
On April 29, 2004, when The Independent asked Hitler-admiring historian David Irving for a quote about his plans for a lecture tour of Britain, Irving replied: “I will be happy to assist any journalist on the newspaper that publishes Robert Fisk.”
In April 2003, Fisk was described by the New York Times as “probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain.”
There’s more: scroll down and be rewarded for your efforts, s’il vous plait.
Pay per view changed the Saturday Night Fights forever. If we are going to pay top dollar to watch an exhibition of the ’sweet science,’ we want the main event to go more than a round or two. If the fighters don’t ‘go the distance,’ we feel we’ve been snookered.
The same might be said for the ‘Just War’ being fought in the Middle East.
Fans on either side want to see a fight.
There is the perception that the Israelis are ‘facing stiff resistance’ and that Hizbollah fighters are ‘far more stubborn fighters,’ than anticipated.
Some pundits note that Israel is ‘fearful’ of a full scale ground invasion- afraid of a never ending ‘quagmire.’ Hizbollah fighters it is said, are offering up ‘fierce defence’ against a legendary foe. The Arab street takes pride in Hizbollah, so much so that they have come to believe that Hizbollah is acting as their proxy, heroic in battle and defending Arab ‘honor’ (which has come to mean not bleeding to death or successfully portraying oneself as a victim, crying on demand for the cameras. That actually occurred).
In fact, those perceptions serve Israel well.
As long as there is a perception (real or imagined) that the battle is more ‘equal’ than anticipated, there is a reluctance on the part of many Arab supporters of Hizbollah to demand a ceasefire. In fact, much of the Arab street encourages Hizbollah to continue it’s ‘heroic struggle.’ All the while, the Israeli armed forces are perfectly content to have things play out as they are. If the perception is the Hizbollah aren’t being steamrollered by the Israelis, well, so what if the ceasefire is delayed a few days?
The world has come to expect a different war kind of war from Israel- and not meeting those expectations serves Israel very well. While the media anticipated the Israelis to make a run for Beirut at 70 MPH, the Israelis threw them- and Hizbollah, a curve.
The Israelis learned that threatening Beirut will not rid that country of Hizbollah influence in the south. By leaving remnants of Hizbollah functional, the Israelis are now facing the very kind of opposition they naively hoped they might have avoided. Had the Israelis done to Hizbollah then what they are doing to them now, neither the Lebanese or the Israelis would have to deal with current realities. Courtesy of Seraphic Secret, comes this map, indicating exactly where Israeli bombs have fallen. You’ll be more than a little surprised. Lebanon is not burning.
Hizbollah did not acquire thousands and thousands of rockets and missiles they never intended to use. Hizbollah’s struggle against Israel is not political in nature- It never was. Hizbollah sees the conflict with Israel as an existential one, having nothing to do with politics or borders. Indeed, Nasrallah, Fadlalah, et al, have made clear that the existence of Israel, with any borders, will not be tolerated. There was no pretense, no diplomatic dance. Hizbollah is not a government, any more than is Aq Qaeda.
We noted in a comment, that
…In fact, Hamas and Hizbollah miscalculated- they believed a low level, low grade assault on Israel would no provoke an Israeli response. They Israelis, they believed, would not upset and endanger their western sytle, middle class existence, by going to war.
They believed that Israel would allow herself to be consumed by the same kind of cancer that ruined Lebanon and that has deprived Palestinians of a state of their own… (as usual, SC&A were ahead of the curve)
Hizbollah and the Arab world are still behind the curve. The Israelis are not bogged down. This time, the Israelis understand that rather than go around their enemy on the way to to Beirut, they are going to go through Hizbollah. They are going to cut any Hizbollah forces they encounter, to ribbons.
This is very different than any war Israel has ever fought.
For example, the Israelis have surrounded a few villages in southern Lebanon. Hizbollah is claiming ‘resistance.’ In reality, the Israelis have rendered those Hizbollah members Hizbollah impotent in their ability to do Israel harm. The Israelis in turn, will wait them out- they aren’t going anywhere. In the past, they would have simply moved forward. This time, the Israelis will not leave until they have eradicated as much of Hizbollah as possible.
The Israelis could be in Beirut tomorrow, if they so desired. Unfortunately for Hizbollah, that is not on the Israeli agenda. Israel is more than happy to be ‘bogged down’ for the next two weeks, taking care of business.
At the end of the 1967 Six Day War, the Arab world was stunned to find out they had lost. Arab media had been broadcasting breathless reports to a joyous Arab world of Tel Aviv under attack and falling, Haifa burning and Jerusalem Juderein once and for all.
Of course, none of it was true. The Israelis had crossed the Suez Canal, Syria lost the Golan Heights and Jordan said good bye to the West Bank and it’s illegal hold on Jerusalem.
When this war ends, it will be ‘
Point To Point
July 27, 2006
The shortest distance between to points is a straight line.
Read Dr Sanity’s The Brilliance Of The New Barbarians.
Our uncertainty is sinking us already. Value by value. Look how willing much of the West was to compromise our freedom of speech in the Danish cartoons (no matter how “offensive” they might be taken) in order to accommodate the enemy’s threats. Soon, we will have compromised away all that matters to us; and our civilization will drown, little by little as it is taken over by the barbarians.
If we continue to appease them, we will drown in their ruthlessness and love of death.
The cost of this war will be more than all the lives lost; it will also be for the humanity and civilization we must temporarily abandon to win. I love to read fantasies as much as anyone, but in the real world, the good and virtuous whose cause is just do not always win.
Shrinkwrapped has two posts that need to be read. A Perspective On Tribes And Anti-Semitism is the clarion call of the sublime:
Using Jews as a way to manage envy has continued to be the modus operandi of the Arab world. If anything, the problem had become exponentially more difficult with the founding of the state of Israel. Since the founding of Israel, the disparity between the accomplishments of the tiny Jewish minority in their midst, and the enormous mass of Arab and Islamic peoples surrounding them, has grown by leaps and bounds. This despite the Muslim world being blessed with the possession of a large percentage of the world’s energy reserves.
When people are convinced, and behave as if, they are unable to compete, the alternatives are quite limited. They can either accept their failures (often felt as inferiority) or project their failures onto a convenient object which can then serve to rationalize and explain their failures. This preserves their self-esteem while it also ensures their continued failings. The Islamic world has made their choice. Rather than address their own failures, they have turned their envious eye upon the Jews in their midst, whose very existence is a constant insult, and deceived themselves into believing that the Jew has caused all their problems. The most glaring recent example of this has been the Palestinian sacking of the Gazan greenhouses left to them when Israel abandoned their settlements; greenhouses which were financed by American and Jewish money and given as a gift to the people of Gaza. Instead of using the greenhouses to help jump-start the economy of their nascent state, they looted them and destroyed them. They sit, unused, a testament to the Palestinian need to maintain their own deprivation; in this way they can then continue to direct their energy toward hatred and murder of Jews rather than to build a Nation of their own and risk the breakdown of their tribal order.
All too true- and more truth can be found reading between the lines. Ther are no distortions in the mirror Shrinkwrapped holds up.
A second post, Fantasies And Self-Fulfilling Prophecies, examines the damage and havoc brought on by with the refusal to deal with reality. Like a child holding on to a favorite blanket, the Arab world refuses to release what provides so much comfort- the escape from reality and the opportunity to hate the very things they aspire to be (and at the same time, are so afraid of) - successful, in every sense of the world.
Hate becomes that dependable security blanket.
Israel knows that it is once again fighting for its very existence; this is non-negotiable, yet Israel’s suicide is the ultimate demand of its enemies…
For nearly 60 years now, and much longer in many ways, the legitimacy of Islamic states int he Middle East has been built upon anti-Semitism. As the disparity between the development of the rest of the world, exemplified by the modern technological powerhouse in their midst, and the poverty of economy, intellect, and development of the Muslim World has become more and more marked, those who rely on an external fantasy object upon which to project all of their dysfunction, have had to become increasingly fervent and impassioned in their hatred. The core of the Iranian sickness and the Arab sickness is the belief that Israel, and the Jews, are the cause of all their problems. There can be no other resolution to such a fantasy except genocide.
Shrinkwrapped isn’t overstating anything.
We were once asked, “What is it about Dr Sanity, Shrinkwrapped, Neo, et al, that you find so interesting?”
Well besides the obvious brilliance, wit and charisma that matches our own, these bloggers are thoughful and reflective. In practical terms, that means we- and you- are better off for reading them.
Known By The Company You Keep
July 27, 2006
Your mother was right- you are known by the company you keep. Courtesy of Neo-neocon, comes this bit of self explanatory reality.
Apparently, Kofi Annan never learned that lesson.
America, Learning To Dance And Other Valuable Lessons
July 27, 2006
Last night, we had the privilege of participating in a conversation with some very intelligent people.
It was the first time we met and like all first times at all things, a certain awkwardness was in evidence. We attempted to discuss the matter at hand and at the same time, establish a collective rhythm. After a while, the reluctance, halting efforts and and self conscienceness began to wither. In other words, like an anticipated, fumbling and inept first kiss, the experience became pleasurable as time went on (we like the analogy. It got your attention, didn’t it? Quit being such a critic). By the time our time together was over, while the rhythm might not have been perfect, we were dancing.
We thought about that, after the conversation. Why did a less than perfect, less than staged scenario, leave an impression?
It was clear that each of the participants are in their own right, intelligent, accomplished and recognized professionals. That said, there are lots of intelligent, accomplished and recognized professionals. There was something else about this group of people that was different.
In recalling the conversation, what sticks out the most was a brief discussion of our ‘politics’- how we got to where we are now from where we were before. As each of us presented the the abbreviated version of our journey, it became clear that however different we might be, we shared a love of country- not the lip service kind of love of country, but the real thing- the kind of love of country that includes the love of our fellow countrymen.
Each of us, in our own way, are iconoclasts-the status quo was never good enough- or ever will be- and politically correct or socially acceptable ’sacred cows’ will never be a part of our collective realities. What set this group of people apart is they are each, reflective. Their politics were not just reactive or reflexive, but rather, they were arrived at after careful consideration and thought. Regardless of beliefs, there will be no ‘party line’ conversations or facades.
It is that truth that we found riveting.
We have noted before that
…Europe…never got over the fact that, unleashed, those ‘wretched refuse’ and ‘huddled masses’- their very own- went on to build success not only for themselves, but for their adopted country as well. We said that these unwanted masses of people understood what the elite and intellectuals of Europe never understood for themselves– that given the opportunity, they were perfectly able to fend for themselves, succeed and even excel. Thus, the European ‘refuse’ become proud and worthy pillars in the community. Their worth and contributions to the American mosaic was far more than what the Europeans had exploited them for. Europe had made a mistake by sending off it’s most abundant natural resource, it’s own sons and daughters. All had been willing to work- and then some, had they been given the chance. Europe had squandered it’s best and most precious resource- a population ready to do it’s best, in exchange for equal opportunity.
In America, anything is possible. In America every dream is more than potential reality- here, dreams are real, though just beyond reach. If we strain a bit more, and reach just a bit further, that dream can be our own reality. Of course, it takes more than aplan and a bit of hard work to reach out and grab that dream.
It also takes reflection on what the opportunity means to us. In what is a most uniquely American trait, generations of immigrants also reflected on what their part might be in contributing to and becoming a panel in what is the tapestry of the American dream.
Our dreams are always grandiose, no matter what those dreams are, and our reflections on our possibilities are no less significant. Some of us come to America as adults, because we still dream- and see the magic of America, every day. Others come here so that their children might have opportunities they were denied. Yet others come as refugees, rebuilding lost lives and learning not to look over their shoulders. They learn they can sleep through night, in safety and peace.
As has often been noted, America is not just a place. It is a frame of mind.
Mamacita “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.” The illiterate grandmother lifted her new granddaughter and said, simply, “This child has been born of parents who can read and write. This, to me, is a great miracle.”
It occurred to us that each of the participants in last night’s ‘first dance,’ would have the same response under those same circumstances. That awareness comes about as the result of reflectiion.
Sadly, the reflection that is part of the American psyche sets us apart is beginning to erode. The Anchoress noted too, in Center Is Not Holding In The Blogosphere, that many bloggers are becoming less reflective and more reactive- and she is concerned. She writes of bloggers, but in what has become typical Anchoress fashion, she is really speaking to much wider audience.
The blogosphere is certainly wild, lately. Almost feels like things have moved from fever swamp to something else…something careening out of control.
As a rule, when reflection is replaced with responsive or knee jerk reflexive thought, intolerance, bigotry and deceit move in to replace the loss. The Anchoress post highlights the acceptance of what is anarchy, as acceptable political expression. America is becoming less like America and more like everyplace else.
Still, for the timebeing, in a world that is resistant to change, it is only in America that the possibility of real and meaningful of change, becomes most real. In America, there is still no ‘wrong side of the tracks,’ really. In America a child can still be elevated from a tenement to the House of Representatives- or the White House. In America, the children of uneducated immigrants grow up to be respected doctors, lawyers and professionals, a panel in that tapestry that is America.
An America of reflex and response is not the America immigrants aspire to. America without reflection, dreams and possibilities, isn’t America.
Immigrants to America understand how great this country really is. Not just immigrants from third world or war torn countries, but even those of us from Europe and other ‘first world’ nations. This is still the country where dreams come true. No parent in this country ever had to tell a child with aspirations and drive to ‘Stop dreaming!’
Most Americans have no idea how rich they really are.
In French Riots And An American Diner we noted
America does make each of us superior- not because we are better than anyone else, but rather, because we each have the opportunity to succeed, with no exception. That is the American promise. It may not be easy, and there may be discrimination at times, but no matter, because for every door that is closed, there are others that are opened.
Ask the guy that with the funny accent down at the diner. Ask him about his hopes and dreams, for himself and his family.
We know a man like that. In his diner, there is a framed copy of citizenship papers. He took his oath a few years ago. On that anniversary, he gives the regulars, the patrons he’s known for years, a free slice of pie for dessert, along with the play by play of that special day.
He is a proud- and real- American, funny accent and all…
These are the truths we and our new dance partners understand, share- and reflect upon.
