“Hello and welcome to Outlook from the BBC world service.
I’m Lucy Ash.”
A heart-sinking announcement for anyone familiar with Ms. Ash
“In Today’s Programme: The aid worker inside the Gaza strip helping traumatised children there to rebuild their shattered lives.”
Lucy Ash is about to deliver rather more than an interview with the aid worker.
In her introduction she milks the latest revelations by Israel about their own misconduct in Gaza down to the very last drop.
“Now Israel has revealed that it’s disciplined two senior officers for endangering civilians by firing white phosphorus shells during last years attack on the Gaza strip,” she announces with palpable relish. “The officers, a brigadier general and a colonel, were found to have exceeded their authority in ordering the use of the weapons, which were fired in the direction of the main United Nations warehouse in Gaza City,” she continues, emphasising their ranks lest we might think lesser beings were responsible. “Use of such munitions near populated areas violates international law. White phosphorus sticks to flesh and burns for many hours causing appalling injuries.”
But what has this got to do with the aid worker? Does white phosphorus relate to the forthcoming tale of psychological healing she promised us?
“ More than 1100 Palestinians were killed during operation cast lead,” (We’ve got the white phosphorus now, so we’ll stop bothering to exaggerate the body count) “and the devastation wrought by the 22 day conflict in Gaza is still everywhere to be seen. Large areas of the strip were reduced to rubble, leaving thousands homeless. Children are amongst the worst affected.”
“Osama Damo (?), an aid worker with Save The Children has been involved in setting up centres to look after them, and to help them come to terms with the loss and insecurity overshadowing their young lives. Many of them have been severely psychologically traumatised by what they saw in the war.”
In addition to the traumatising effect of being indoctrinated with hatred of Jews then used as human shields by Islamist terrorists, which Ms. Ash omitted to mention.
The interview with the aid worker proceeded to detail psychological damage typical of that suffered by most war victims anywhere, and the incident graphically related to illustrate a particular child’s trauma had nothing to do with white phosphorus so far as I could see.
Lucy Ash’s introduction conjured up the notorious image of the napalm-burnt, running, Vietnamese child. The average listener could only have assumed that white phosphorus was routinely authorised by senior Israeli soldiers and deliberately used as a weapon against civilians, while Operation Cast Lead appeared to have been perpetrated for no other reason than baseless hatred of Palestinians, by aggressive expansionist Israel. Must we now expect the white phosphorus revelations to be added gratuitously to the fluctuating body count that accompanies all references to the Middle East conflict?
Do not assume that I approve of white phosphorus, or that I know enough about it to defend or attack its use. Do not assume that I think Israel can do no wrong. But Israel did one right thing in investigating and admitting this error, and in so doing handed ammunition to its enemies in the propaganda war, so was damned either way.
People who support Israel would rather it didn’t do anything at all that placed it in a bad light in the eyes of the world, but in the scheme of things how plausible is that?
Lucy Ash knew what she was doing, and, I assume, so did the BBC.
Belated Update.
So not only was Lucy Ash’s introduction gratuitous and biased, it was also factually incorrect. The reprimand she was so eager to tell us about was not about the use of white phosphorus at all. The alacrity with which she, and the BBC blurted out erroneous unverified material concerning Israel is telling. It’s not as if this was the first time such a thing has happened. It should be a lesson to them, but it seems they’ll never learn.
Of course, in the interest of “balance” there will be a forthcoming report on the trauma suffered by Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism.
“Now Israel has revealed…“
But just the other day the BBC was accusing Israel of “burying” that information!
I see that they have updated that page, but “our correspondent” is still quoted as talking about the “admission” being “buried” deep inside the document.
Buried so deep that there’s barely a media organisation in the world that isn’t covering it.
“Contrary to the impression some would like to give, Israel is not a rogue state with good PR, content, like Shakespeare’s Claudius, to smile and smile and be a villain. It is an accountable, democratic, transparent nation, and fighting to remain one amid challenges that few other nations ever have to face.”
The last paragraph of a balanced article in the Times.
The Elder of Ziyon did an excellent article about phosphorous last year http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2009/01/all-you-wanted-to-know-about-white.html
What a shock. Those that saw the Tory press conference today would have seen George Osborne rip into Toenails about BBC pay. Well come the 6PM news and the BBC cut it, instead Toenails attacks Osborne then bigs up McIdiot.
Guido was there and said that them in the back really ripped into Toenails and there was a big round of applause when Georgie boy let rip. Clearly like Boris taking Paxo down a peg the BBC don’t like it up em.
“BBC reports suggest that in recent days none of these rockets has resulted in any Israeli deaths or injuries. Not true. CFI report today that: “An Israeli man was killed and four others were seriously wounded when a missile hit a house in Netivot. Another man was seriously wounded when a rocket struck at the community of Mivtahim later this afternoon.” Over the last four years, 92% of Sderot residents (a town of 20,000 people) have experienced a Qassam rocket falling on their or an adjacent street. Sixteen Israelis have been killed by Qassam rockets and hundreds have been injured and maimed.”
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2008/12/israel-is-right-to-defend-its-people.html
The Terrorism Act 2000 outlaws certain national and international organisations described as “terrorist” groups, making it illegal for them to operate in the UK. (from the BBC Editorial Guidelines) Checking with the Home Office we discover Hamas Izz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades are a proscribed terrorist group.
According to his Wikipedia entry Mahmoud al-Zahar has ‘long ties to the group, and helped form it, though he never became a commander in it’. “it has been confirmed that he actively encouraged and planned attacks against Israeli civilian and military targets during and before the Al-Aqsa Intifada {BBC News, 27 January 2006).
So what do we make of ‘In an interview with the BBC, Mr [Mahmoud al] Zahar blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the talks’ failure’? Will the BBC claim they were technically OK because the interview didn’t take place in Britain? Was the Controller Editorial Policy and Programme Legal Advice consulted, as per guidelines, giving permission for the interview?
Further to the IDF “burying” the white phosphorous incidents in its report, I suggest one downloads the report here (PDF):
Click to access GazaOperationInvestigationsUpdate.pdf
Pages 30 and 31 of 46 is where you’ll find reference to the two officers being disciplined.
Hardly “buried” somewhere in the report!
Page 30:
GAZA OPERATION INVESTIGATIONS: AN UPDATE
General and a Colonel had authorized the firing of explosive shells which landed in a populated area, in violation of IDF orders limiting the use of artillery fire near populated areas. The Commander of the Southern Command disciplined the two officers for exceeding their authority in a manner that jeopardized the lives of others.
101. Upon completion of the special command investigations, the investigators presented their findings to the IDF Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, who adopted their recommendations.97 The Chief of General Staff ordered the IDF to implement lessons learned on a broad range of matters, directing that certain standing orders be highlighted or clarified, establishing further guidelines on the use of various munitions, and instructing that steps be taken to improve coordination with humanitarian organisations and entities.
Page 31:
GAZA OPERATION INVESTIGATIONS: AN UPDATE
106. The Military Advocate General reviewed the findings and entire record of this special command investigation. He also reviewed additional materials, including information in the Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Report and the Report of the United Nations Headquarters Board of Inquiry into certain incidents in the Gaza Strip Between 27 December 2008 and 19 January 2009.
107. The Military Advocate General found no basis to order criminal investigations of the thirteen incidents under review. With regard to two of these incidents, the Military Advocate General affirmed the decisions to pursue disciplinary proceedings against IDF personnel.
108. One of these incidents involved alleged damage to the UNRWA field office compound in Tel El Hawa.102 The special command investigation revealed that, during the course of a military operation in Tel El Hawa, IDF forces fired several artillery shells in violation of the rules of engagement prohibiting use of such artillery near populated areas. Based on these findings, the Commander of the Southern Command disciplined a Brigadier General and a Colonel for exceeding their authority in a manner that jeopardized the lives of others.
I look forward to seeing the report of the investigation that Hamas has carried out. *DONT_KNOW*
Yes it would be interesting to see a report made by Hamas on “jeopardized the lives of others” and “rules of engagement”…
Actually, they have investigated and guess what… they’re innocent!
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2010/01/hamas-finds-itself-innocent-what.html
Tories out to get the BBC Trust. Hopefully the bottom rung of a ladder that leads to the death of the BBC. camp male beeboid on BBC paper review sneering about the Times being a Murdoch paper.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article7012852.ece
In fact the whole BBC report is wrong – why am I nor surprised. The soldiers were not reprimanded over the firing of phosphorous shells. The two officers were reprimanded for firing artillery shells. Phosphorus shells were being fired on this occasion, but entirely lawfully — in order to create smoke to deter Hamas from firing its anti-tank weapons. The irony was that the officers were reprimanded for not firing phosphorus but disobeying their orders by firing artillery shells which endangered life (although no-one was actually hurt by them). Aplogy, retraction from the BBC yeah sure – they’ll continue to go with another blood libel against Israel rather than admit they got it wrong. Lucy Ash obviously did not read the IDF Report but rather relied on the tendentious story run by Ha’aretz and penned by an idiot who should have known better.
Melanie Phillips has the whole story on this. It’s a real MUST READ:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/5749841/the-phosphorus-cloud-over-haaretz.thtml
It is unlikely that the BBC will take much notice of the facts now. Even if they took the trouble to read the relevant part of the Israeli response to the Goldstone Commission report, or read Melanie Phillips’s article, or found out some other way, as far as they are concerned, it will be a matter of ‘Israel would say that wouldn’t it.’
And the damage is already done. The thing that really got to me was that Lucy Ash thought it was a good idea to include that slur in her report, which was supposedly about the psychological problems that the aid worker was treating. Apart from the fact that Israeli children are also known to be suffering from similar problems, which Lucy Ash could have easily mentioned, but she didn’t, the obviously gratuitous inclusion of the officers’ reprimand and the emotive description of how white phosphorus burns flesh that she gleefully included in her introduction, made the whole item positively reek of bias. Now it seems she got it all wrong as well, it looks much worse.
The other fallout from this erroneous version of the affair is people saying ‘I told you so’ about the punishment which was too trivial; nothing less that having both officers shot at dawn would satisfy their sense of fair play.
The clarification is welcome, but few Israel-bashers will listen to it because they don’t want to.
I Sue, I see you’ve just posted your reply, will you be updating the piece you’ve published?
Sorry that I was slow to do what you asked. I hope the update is what you had in mind. You’re always welcome to email me with your suggestions, or articles you’d like me to post on your behalf.
You got it in one! I suppose you have access to my email address here in case you want to send me your email.
No, I don’t have access to anyone’s emails, but mine is available on my profile at the top left – click on sue.
Here it is again:
postforsue@googlemail.com
It’s hard to dissociate from the Israel Palestine aspects but some general good may come out of all this. Operation Cast Lead may well be remembered as the War inwhich the Rules of Engagement for the 21th Century are written.
For the Red Cross which proposed that soldiers not in uniform and not carrying weapons are protected civilians it’s back to the drawing room.
The BBC is inveterately pro-Arab, pro-Islam and anti-Israel.
From Jeremy Bowen and BBC company.,( which seem to base themselves in Israel with the purpose of permamently criticising the only democracy in the Middle East), through to BBC Arabic TV (paid for – £25 million each year -by British taxpayers) which services the interest of the Arabs in trhe Middle East – from the BBC Arabic TV HQ (complete with prayer room in Broadcasting House, London):
“BBC blunders as bosses forget to build prayer room for new Arabic TV channel”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-511159/BBC-blunder-bosses-forget-build-prayer-room-new-Arabic-TV-channel.html
And the more the BBC criticises Israel, and supports Hamas and Hezbollah, the more the BBC is acting against the interests of European and British people:
“Bat Ye’or: Europe’s anti-Israel strategy will result in the destruction of Europe itself” (inc. Video)
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/02/bat-yeor-europe.html