Silencing Ivan

Ivan Watson has been doing humane and gritty reporting on the ground in Lebanon. His reports often present details of the death and devastation that Israel is inflicting on Lebanon. This morning on Sunday's Weekend Edition it was striking when Watson was being interviewed by Don Gagne. Watson reported about three automobiles of refugees targeted by Israel. One of the cars was 30 feet from the hospital where Watson was reporting. Some obvious questions that Gagne might have asked would be whether the attacks were intentional, why is Israel warning civilians to flee and then bombing people who do flee, etc. Instead Gagne quickly moved on to asking about Hezbollah fighters, asking Watson if he had seen any fighters, etc. No emotional response, no follow-up, no questioning the legality of the attacks or the US backing for the attacks.

War Erupting and The People's Army

Tonight's coverage of the exchange of bodies and prisoners between Israel and Hezbollah/Lebanon provided a good case of contrast and compare on NPR. Reporting from Israel, Eric Westervelt had some interesting comments:

"....since they were seized in an ambush on July 12th, 2006 while on a routine patrol near the Lebanese border. Hezbollah guerrillas rained machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire down on their armored jeeps. Three Israeli soldiers were killed on the spot and Goldwasser and Regev were taken captive. They were reservists Israeli soldiers doing their annual duty in what many here call 'The People's Army.'"

That is some colorful storytelling. I searched and searched and could find little details about the ambush itself. The Washington Post and the BBC both had some sketchy information about the operation in which the two Israeli soldiers were captured. Both quoted Hezbollah officials claiming that they had seized the two men in order to force prisoner exchanges. I couldn't find anything about the machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenades, although one might assume such weapons were used given the deaths of the soldiers. The bit about the "People's Army" was just plain salesmanship for the militarized state of Israel.

From Lebanon, NPR has Ivan Watson reporting on the reactions of citizens, government officials and Hezbollah supporters. Unfortunately, Watson - who did some of the better reporting from Lebanon when it was being pulverized by the IDF - has switched to the unoffending passive voice in describing Israel's planned destruction of Lebanon in the summer of 2006. He states,

"When Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in that 2006 raid, Israel refused to negotiate. Instead a vicious five week war erupted which left much of Southern Lebanon in ruins."

War didn't just "erupt," it was planned and premeditated with US assistance. However, the part about Lebanon in ruins was true, but it didn't occur by happenstance.

Which Reality Is It?

NPR's Sunday Weekend Edition presents disturbing coverage of the US/Israeli assault on Lebanon. This morning's news broke with the latest horror of civilian slaughter: the more than fifty people killed as they sheltered in a basement in the Lebanese town of Qana. The piece that NPR aired giving an overview of this event had Liane Hansen interviewing Mike Shuster from northern Israel. (Given that Ivan Watson and Jackie Northam are in Lebanon this seemed odd.) This interview is not an overview, but an IDF rationalization of the mass killing of the civilians. Shuster states, "the Israelis say they did not target civilians specifically; they say that Hezbollah has been launching hundreds of rockets from Qana in and around this area that was bombed. And they also say, the Israelis also say, that the civilian residents of Qana have been warned; there were leaflets dropped over the town, even telephone calls made to people, to civilians in Qana, to leave and the Israelis believe they should have left earlier...." Hansen also continues the distortion of presenting the US assistance and cooperation with Israel as diplomacy. She asks, "What’s your impression of where all this leaves the US diplomatic effort to end the figthting?" to which Shuster responds, "It leaves it somewhat shattered at the moment...."

NPR does go on to present Ivan Watson (who continues to do admirable work) reporting on the scene in Qana. The strangest interchange occurs after Watson has stated that a UN observer in Qana told him that there were no Hezbollah fighters in the village and that he had no idea why Israel would have bombed the building. To this Liane Hansen responds, "Is there any sign of humanitarian aid getting in more rescue operations, the roads are bad and the Israeli Prime Minister has said he’s going to try to get some humanitarian aid in there; can you see any signs of any more people coming in to help?" I had to listen to this several times to be sure I had heard it correctly!

Watson Keeps It Real

Once again praise is due to Ivan Watson for his humane reporting on the impact of the war on civilians in Lebanon. Yesterday on ATC he gave a poignant audio piece on the rescue of a teen from the rubble of a pancaked apartment building. NPR also deserves credit for airing Watson's stories.

It's a Stronghold

On NPR's Morning Edition Renee Montagne introduced the news about Lebanon by stating that Israel airstrikes hit "a Hezbollah stronghold" for the seventh day in a row. She also stated that the airstrikes were aimed at freeing two captured Israeli soldiers. For NPR the whole of Lebanon is a Hezbollah stronghold! The irony was that her interviews with Ivan Watson and Deborah Amos contained unnerving details about the reality of life under bombardment for civilians (especially foreigners trapped in Lebanon).

Zwerdling, Watson, and Weird Iran

First kudos to Daniel Zwerdling for his Thursday ATC reporting on the horrid treatment of Iraq vets suffering from PTSD and brain trauma. Not only should NPR be running his stories; he should be training their staff in how to do stories. I was fascinated by how doggedly detailed his work is. He'd quote an assertion by someone, and then talk about tracking down as many sources as possible to verify or contradict what was alleged. He would constantly note who was willing to talk and who refused. It was stellar, and the exception. More!

Second, kudos to NPR and Morning Edition for featuring the story about "The Axis of Evil" comedy troupe and their Middle East tour. I noticed that the reporter for this was Ivan Watson - the only NPR reporter who showed humanity during the Israeli/US slaughter of Lebanon in the summer of 2006. In the current Islamaphobic times we are living in, it really was refreshing (and dare I say brave) of NPR to air a piece that showed a rich and varied Arab/Islamic culture across the world. More!

Lastly, in the one step forward, two steps back category was tonight's piece about the potential nuclear arms race in the Middle East. The piece opens with one of those vague "experts say" fear statements: "but experts say some of this renewed interest is sparked by fears that Iran will acquire a nuclear weapon and they worry about a future arms race." However, NPR does break the usual taboo and refers to Israel's lawless nuclear arsenal:

• "Cairo analyst says there are genuine energy needs driving some of these demand for nuclear plants, but having watched the west fail to stop Israel from acquiring what experts say is a powerful nuclear arsenal, Arab states are now watching a defiant Iran pursue uranium enrichment."

• "...the nuclear free argument was primarily meant to put pressure on Israel's nuclear program and it led nowhere."

Holy smokes! Amazing. But wait, the piece began with the Iran boogie man and so it must end with this truly bizarre statement:

• "For much of the world the primary nuclear issue of the moment is Iran and Arab states appear to be wondering if they can rely on America and the West to stop the Iranians from acquiring the bomb or if instead they should be trying to catch up."

Rely on America and the West? You've got to be joking.

(The picture? I just liked it. It seemed to capture the holiday irony of this post - am I being the Grinch or Susie Who?)

Did Scott Simon Really Say That

Covering the Israeli assault on Lebanon, Ivan Watson is describing the intentional destruction of several hundred small fishing boats at a pier in Beruit. Watson mentions that the fishermen who make about $600 a month were looking at their strafed and destroyed boats and joking that they were "Hezbollah aircraft carriers!" I guess Scott Simon didn't get the joke and asks--in all seriousness--" I suppose the Israelis were worried that small boats can in fact be used to transport missiles in and out."

Unflinching

Occasionally I have to give credit to NPR: Ivan Watson is doing very humane work covering the civilian costs of the Israeli assault on Lebanon and NPR is giving him air time on their broadcasts.