He Said, He Said

I confess that I was quite overwhelmed by the generosity displayed by the Moroccan government vis-à-vis the unfolding horror in Lebanon. It was announced today that 2 cargo planes had been sent last evening to Lebanon with:

...18 tons of medicines (MAD 5 million) and 16 tons of powdered milk, which Lebanese children desperately need ... the sovereign also decided to grant Lebanon a USD 5 million relief assistance, as another sign of solidarity with the suffering Lebanese people.

Quite frankly, I didn't know that King M6 had this much loose change jingling in his pockets or that so much unrequired medicine was just sitting on shelves watching their expiration dates draw nearer & nearer. But, what do I know? Bravo!

Having said that, I was a tad perturbed by the reporting of the story in The Morocco Times; its sole reference to the violence and any of the causes thereof being:

Israel has launched for about a week now a fierce attack on Lebanon, ostensibly to free two soldiers taken hostage by Hizbullah. The aggression targets mainly civilian infrastructure. It has so far killed over 200 civilians.

Wow. Now, I am not, by nature, what one might call a supporter of Israel's foreign or domestic policies - far from it. But in the interest of fairness, it might have been politic to mention the role that the Hezbollah has & is playing in this nightmare that we call "tensions in the Middle East". We shouldn't forget that it was Hezbollah militants who entered Israel, killing 3 Israeli soldiers and kidnapping 2 others in a bid to negotiate a future prisoner exchange. Exchanges that the Israelis are historically loath to do. For good measure, after the ambush, another 5 Israeli soldiers were killed. Israel - in typical fashion I must admit - responded by bombing the living shit out of Beirut (as well as a naval blockade). Hezbollah retaliated, firing rockets into Haifa. D. S. al Coda.

Two sides, two sets of players - with the playing field a much beseiged country that routinely gets the crap kicked out of it as soon as it rebuilds the infrastructure that was destroyed after the last shit-kicking. (Cat in Rabat wonders if it possible to grow up in Lebanon and not be irrevocably traumatized?).

Balanced reporting would be nice. Perhaps mention all the participants, especially the ones who launch rockets and drop bombs. Or those that finance and supply them. That's all. That's all I wanted to say.