Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Shells falling from the skies in Hirmil, Lebanon

Look how Anne Barnard reports (in her daily report on Hizbullah's intervention in Syria) about the indiscriminate shelling of Hirmil:  "Four rockets hit this village near the Syrian border on Tuesday afternoon, badly wounding a woman who was sitting under an olive tree in her yard, residents said. Shortly before, gunmen killed three Lebanese soldiers at a border checkpoint in the Bekaa Valley, adding to fears that the crisis in Syria is spilling into Lebanon.  Rocket attacks are becoming more frequent in Hermel, and they have killed at least three civilians, including a 17-year-old girl who died in her house on Monday night. Residents said they believed that they were being targeted because Hezbollah, the pro-Syrian Lebanese Shiite militant group, is the political power in the village and bases some operations nearby.  But Saad Hamedeh, the son of a prominent tribal sheik in the village, said there were no military targets there. “They are trying to kill civilians,” he said."  1) Notice that she does not mention the identity of the group shelling Hirmil, and it appears as if the shells are just falling from sky, although Fee Syrian Army proudly claims responsibility.  2) Notice that she sticks to her pattern of providing excuses and justifications whenever she feels obliged to report about car bombs or indiscriminate shelling by armed groups.  She tells you here that the civilians deserve to die because "residents" blamed Hizbullah's presence, as if Hizbullah members come from outer space and not from the village itself.  3) Notice that she always attributes convenient pro-FSA propaganda to "residents" whether they are in Syria or in Lebanon, and notice that residents are treated as if they are a monolithic group or a political party.  "Residents" all agree on one version that always happens to fit into the propaganda scheme of FSA.