Buried in the Rubble

During the summer (of 2006) we all witnessed the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. There were many aspects of events which were covered by news media and, among the most prominent was the plight of Lebanese civilians. Qana being the epitome.

In my opinion, one side of the argument sought to appeal to emotion. Citing pictures of dead children as proof of Israeli imcompetence or even malice. Indeed the pictures represented tragic events.

Months later, after extensive research, we can see, clearly, the acts which resulted in Qana and countless other tragic events.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/world/middleeast/05mideast.html

I stand by my position on this. All conflict is to be avoided. All conflict is terrible. Nevertheless, there is a meaningful difference between people who, during conflict, act to prevent and minimize civilian casualties, and those who intentionally expose civilians to harm. Even the authors of the Geneva Conventions recognized this...in spirit and letter.

Of course, there are other opinions. Those who adhere to that opinion often cite Qana as a specific case of a systemic failure of that logic. To them, I say, there is an alter-narrative which you should consider: The Corruption of the Media