The Arabists’ view.

The headline and first paragraph of this story about the family of an Iraqi girl killed by a British bullet say: :

Hanan’s parents pledge vengeance

The parents of an eight-year-old Iraqi girl allegedly shot dead by British troops have vowed to avenge her death.

This is 50% true. It is supported by the quote given by one parent, her mother, who said,”I hate the British. If I catch the soldier who did this to my little girl I will destroy him.” Yet it is wildly at odds with the quote from the girl’s father: “I want the soldier who killed my daughter put on trial and I want compensation.”

It’s too much to ask people grieving over the violent death of a child to exhibit perfect philosophical consistency. Let’s not get into judging the reactions of Hanan’s parents. No such constraint applies to judging the BBC. Why did the BBC highlight the mother’s desire for vengeance over the father’s desire for the case to go to trial? I think it’s because vengeance is more spectacular than going to law, looks more stereotypically Arab and fits the BBC line that the occupation of Iraq can bring only harm to Britain. In contrast the father’s wish for the case to go to court shows, despite everything he has suffered, a sort of minimal confidence in the post-Saddam order that does not fit the BBC line.

On a related issue, look at this from the same story:

The Army said it was an accident, but an eye witness claimed she died when a soldier aimed and fired from a distance of around 60 metres.

That’s a serious claim: unprovoked murder of a child from a range well within the capacity of a rifleman to aim at an individual. If true it’s a major, major story. So why do we hear about it from just one unnamed person claiming to be an an “eye-witness”? Indeed why has the unqualified term “eye-witness” been used at all? Despite its tone the BBC is not acting as if it’s taking this claim very seriously. It is just, you know, happy to pass it along. Some customers might like that sort of thing and who is the British Broadcasting Corporation to argue?