The BBC and Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells

: when being right sounds like being wrong.

It was DFH who first drew attention to Kim Howells’ comments on the Hezbullah initiated war in Southern Lebanon. Howells framed his comments thus:

And he meant Israel.

The BBC then headlined: “Minister Condemns Israeli Action”

Now it would seem that they are at it again: that is, misrepresenting comments made by Mr Howells. This time it works by their framing of his comments:

“UK Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells has said the definition of what a war crime is may need to be reviewed after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.
He said the nature of the conflict meant a redefinition was needed, referring to actions by both sides.”

By highlighting the Israelis as agents of the war, the comment about “actions by both sides” looks like BBC moderation in action. It isn’t because the comments they are able to quote of Howells- and the context, in the Commons select committee where he was defending UK policy re:Lebanon- suggest strongly his words could have effective application only to Hezbullah.

‘”Every time the Israelis responded… and smashed a building down, every picture of a burnt child and every picture of a building that had housed people [where] there was now pancake on the ground was propaganda for Hezbollah.

“And if an organisation like Hezbollah is ruthless enough to exploit those tactics, then one wonder how it can ever be possible in the future to, if you like, win the justice on your side against such an enemy.”‘

(highlights mine)

In his words, therefore, Howells appears to be backing Israel and defending them against the war crimes charges laid at them by many leftists and Islamists alike.

The BBC have made it, to a casual reader (ie. to one who reads the headline and maybe lede), neutral, verging on critical towards Israel. To understand the implications of Howells’ comments after this intro would take a bit of thought.

“Kim Howells has a reputation for plain speaking, says BBC correspondent Rob Broomby”

-Obviously needed fixing then.

They then finish with a quote from the original Howells’ comments, which when they reported they misrepresented as aforementioned. Wonderful self-reinforcement. Nice work Beeb.