Showing the horrors of war is often the only way of stopping it

HALIFAX—The old cliché has it right: truth is the first casualty of war. War triggers a tribal impulse to take sides, to live in a world of black and white, to kill rather than communicate, and to turn on anyone who's not on your side. One of the only ways to cut through the propaganda of both sides in a war is the media. Great journalists like Walter Cronkite covered war not as proponents of one side or the other, but as the ones writing the first rough draft of history. It was left to the politicians and the generals to provide the spin. The task of the free press was to speak truth to power, and give the public an idea of what was really going on. It is not always perfect, and, in fact, it sometimes gets it wrong. But the work of a free press is far superior to the lies that so often come from both sides on the battlefield, or from their respective governments. As a news anchor at CBS, Cronkite was the first commentator to realize that U.S. operations in Vietnam were “mired in stalemate.” The so-called “Cronkite Moment” came during a broadcast on Feb. 27, 1968. It was an unwinnable war, he told millions of his viewers, which ought to be concluded with a negotiated settlement. That was a very different story than the one the Pentagon was pushing, with the help of bellicose U.S. president Lyndon Johnson, and a series of less-than-honest secretaries of defence. Cronkite turned out to be right. After a few more brutal years of senseless slaughter, helicopters carried the last Americans off the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon as the Vietcong swept into the city. Telling the truth is a dangerous occupation. It grows more perilous every year. In 2022, 67 journalists were killed, 35 of them in Ukraine, Mexico, and Haiti. Whether they are covering a war or uncovering corruption, theirs is a life-and-death occupation. Reuters video journalist Issam Abdullah was killed, and six of his colleagues from Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse were wounded, when Israeli rocket fire rained down on them at Alma al-Shaab in southern Lebanon on Oct. 13. The group was huddled together for safety, with their press identification prominently displayed. No one is saying that this was a deliberate act, but neither side in a war welcomes impartial observers with cameras. That’s because there are always two wars going on in every conflict: the military battle, and the fight for the hearts and minds of the world. Winning the information war is just as important as winning the military contest. Supportive press is seen as good, critical stories as skewed, and unwelcome propaganda as aiding the enemy. That is the challenge facing the Anderson Coopers and Clarissa Wards of the world when they report from the battlefield. Not only do they put their lives on the line with every live broadcast, but they have to work to the standards of the news business, not the expectations of the combatants. The power of press reporting from the theatre of war is immense. When it was reported that Israel had bombed a hospital, killing hundreds of people, the coverage caused outrage, not only in the Middle East, but also around the world. In an unheard of move, leaders from Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority cancelled an in-person summit with U.S. President Joe Biden. Deadly protests were triggered in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, and there were even some drone attacks on U.S. forces in the region. Even after Israel and the U.S. furnished some evidence to suggest that the hospital strike was actually an errant missile fired by Islamic Jihad, the narrative didn’t sell on the Arab street. Nor did it play much better on the international scene. China accused Israel of going beyond defending itself with its unprecedented aerial bombardment that has caused more than 4,000 civilian deaths in Gaza. Iran warned of consequences if the expected land invasion of Gaza takes place. Even in the United States, where the president has just asked for $106-billion to fund wars in Ukraine and Israel, there were large, pro-Palestinian protests outside the White House. The public-relations war over Gaza now has a new twist. The Netanyahu government has just approved measures that would temporarily shut down foreign news channels in certain “emergency” situations. Both the country’s attorney general and communications minister approved the measure. They also said that they expected it would be challenged in court. It should be. It is imperative for the world to have eyes on a conflict that could mushroom into an all-out regional war and more crimes against humanity. One of the main factors that could trigger such a catastrophe is the pictures that might come out of Israel’s looming invasion of Gaza. Military experts have warned that a mass invasion of Gaza would lead to heavy casualties on both sides. That’s because it would be street-to-street, house-to-house combat at close quarters. And that gruesome combat would unfold in a place that is home to millions of civilians. The last thing Israel wants the world to view is the brutal reality of what invading Gaza would actually look like. It will look like a blood-bath, and a lot of that blood will come from innocent men, women, and children who are not combatants. Under normal conditions, the Israel Defence Forces has strict conditions when it comes to the use of lethal force. The first option must be to capture rather than shoot a Palestinian. Even if deadly force is called for, a warning shot must be fired. But all that changed when Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant lifted all restrictions on Israeli soldiers about to invade Gaza. Why is that alarming? Because Hamas, which richly deserves to be put out of business, doesn’t wear uniforms. How are Israeli soldiers supposed to tell the difference between a Hamas terrorist and a mere citizen in the rabbit warren of Gaza City? That’s why CNN, Reuters, the BBC, and Al Jazeera need to be there, along with as many news agencies as possible who have the resources to cover the war. What Cronkite once said about freedom also applies to press freedom: “There is no such thing as a little freedom. Either you are free, or you are not free.” Showing the horror is often the only way of stopping it. Michael Harris is an award-winning author and journalist. The Hill Times

Showing the horrors of war is often the only way of stopping it

There are always two wars in every conflict: the military battle, and the fight for the world's hearts and minds. That’s why well-resourced news agencies like CNN, Reuters, the BBC, Al Jazeera and others need to be there to cover the war.

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Showing the horrors of war is often the only way of stopping it

There are always two wars in every conflict: the military battle, and the fight for the world's hearts and minds. That’s why well-resourced news agencies like CNN, Reuters, the BBC, Al Jazeera and others need to be there to cover the war.

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