Blame The Terrorists, Not Israel....

By Alan M. Dershowitz | July 24, 2006 [The whole thing here]

THE HEZBOLLAH and Hamas provocations against Israel once again demonstrate how terrorists can exploit human rights and the media in their attacks on democracies. By hiding behind their own civilians, the Islamic radicals issue a challenge to democracies: Either violate your own morality by coming after us and inevitably killing some innocent civilians, or maintain your morality and leave us with a free hand to target your innocent civilians. This challenge presents democracies such as Israel with a lose-lose option and terrorists with a win-win option.

There is one variable that could change this dynamic and present democracies with a viable option that could make terrorism less attractive as a tactic: The international community, the anti-Israel segment of the media, and human rights organizations should stop falling for this gambit and acknowledge that they are being used to promote the terrorist agenda.

The useful idiots of the media [and human rights organizations and the clowns at the UN too], with their formulaic view of the world, are unable to adapt to today's reality of what these bloodthirsty terrorists are trying to achieve. Governments do not have the option of allowing pot shots at their own citizenry resulting in wounding and killings to go on without some type of response. So what is Israel supposed to do? Just allow things to happen? Will the terrorists then become bored of killing Israeli citizens without a response by the Israeli government? Will they then go home and leave Israel alone? Or will they continue to ratchet up the attacks? Pretend that Israel had a pacifist government that allowed these attacks to happen without response. The terrorists, seeing victory, would continue to hit them and increase the number of attacks, killings and maimings of Israelis until one day, Israelis suffer enough and elect, through their democratic system, someone that will look after their interests? This is what they have actually done. And therefore, the Israeli Government is doing what the people want them to do and that is protect their interests and lives.

But when the press gets all soggy over the underdog terrorists, they do not effectively communicate what the terrorists are actually doing. The terrorists are using woman and children as human shields to protect their rockets, bombs, command centers and personnel. The terrorists either get to protect their assets since compassionate peoples, like the Israelis, do not want to kill innocent civilians unprovoked or when provoked, the innocents will die and they become part of the propaganda war. As Alan Dershowitz argues, this is a win-win for terrorists and a lose-lose for democracies.

Maybe the press wants to feel as if they are not taking sides but by not equally communicating the terrorists agenda is to have Lebanese civilians killed in large numbers due to a provoked attack, they are actually taking sides... the side of the terrorist. I view it as the lazy liberals easy way out. Its easier to blame the Israelis since they will discuss the issues in a civilized manner with journalists, providing interviews and press conferences with coffee and tea and snacks whereas, the terrorists, are difficult to identify, don't want to be identified, live in little villages, sometimes in purposeful squalid conditions and do not provide coffee, tea or cookies in nice hotel conference room facilities. Additionally, if they are not pleased with your reporting, they may kill you or take you hostage. I don't blame the actual on-the-ground journalist for this kind of behavior since it is almost a Stockholm Syndrome kind of response...

The Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in a hostage, in which the hostage exhibits seeming loyalty to the hostage-taker, in spite of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed.

since it is the journalist too that is being held hostage. The journalist relies upon the very freedoms that the terrorists attack and hold hostage for his livelihood and protection. However, editorial policies at the media have to adjust to the reality on the ground. It is their responsibility to both use their First Amendment rights and to protect them from bloodthirsty Islamists. By being a useful idiot to the terrorists like Hezbollah, the media is rewarding this kind of behavior and we will assuredly get more if it.