Lebanon Braces for 'Next War,' Media Forgets the Last One
The New Arab's reporting is stark: Lebanon is bracing for 'Israel's next war.' This framing, while accurate in its immediate sense, often glosses over the historical aggressor. It's not merely 'a war' but another chapter in a decades-long saga where Lebanon, a sovereign nation, has repeatedly found itself under Israeli assault. We're told Israel aims to 'disarm Hezbollah,' a goal that conveniently
ignores the fact that Hezbollah's existence and armaments are, in large part, a direct response to Israel’s ongoing occupation of Lebanese territory (like the Shebaa Farms) and its repeated invasions and bombardations dating back to 1978, 1982, 1996, and 2006. Think of it as the media equivalent of reporting on a house fire without mentioning the arsonist, or perhaps, the homeowner who keeps
setting fires and then complaining about the smoke. How many times must nations 'brace' before the international community addresses the root cause of the bracing? Or is it that some nations are always the anvil, and others always the hammer, with global media content to describe the metallic impact?