We have been granted a unique opportunity this morning to see the problem with double standards in diplomacy and journalism in war, especially a war that involves Israel and terrorists. Earlier we recounted the utter idiocy of Reuters in allowing a badly-doctored photograph of Beirut to go out over their wires (all hail Charles Johnson). Now USA Today gives us a report on Hezbollah attacks this morning that shows more than one double standard at work:

Hezbollah guerrillas unleashed their deadliest barrage of rockets yet into northern Israel, killing 11 people, while Israeli bombardment killed 17 people in southern Lebanon as fighting only intensified despite a draft U.N. cease-fire resolution. ...

Hezbollah fired a volley of 80 rockets at several Israeli towns, with one of them making a direct hit on a crowd of people at the entrance of the communal farm of Kfar Giladi.

USA Today actually avoids a common double standard used by the press in this war. They refer to the dead as "people" on both sides, whereas the media usually calls Lebanese dead "civilians". However, USA Today does not make note that the attacks by Hezbollah came from rockets deliberately aimed at civilian population centers conducting no offensive operations in this conflict. Do you suppose that Hezbollah is investigating the deaths of Israeli citizens, as the Israelis did after Qana, or celebrating them? And why doesn't the media report that difference?

Also, the rocket count has diminished again, falling to 80 from 200 at its peak after the Baalbek raid, when Hezbollah's production had fallen to 10 per day. That's an interesting development, considering that USA Today says that both sides "appeared to be aiming to inflict maximum mutual damage" before the UN approves the cease-fire proposal from France and the US. It looks like Hezbollah has started tapping out, probably a launcher shortage than rockets and missiles.

Here's one that involves both diplomats and the media:

A Hezbollah rocket blast also injured three Chinese peacekeepers on Sunday, the Chinese state media reported, citing a Chinese officer. The report not specify where the attack occurred or whether the peacekeepers had been hospitalized.

The attack came hours after China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a telephone conversation that the world body should take tangible measures to ensure the security of U.N. peacekeepers, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

When Israel hit a UNIFIL/UNTSO post a couple of weeks ago, Kofi Annan went on worldwide television to express his anger at the "deliberate targeting" of UN personnel by the IDF. He demanded access to the area for an independent UN investigation. Only when Canada, whose soldier was among the four dead, insisted that Israel had not deliberately targeted the UN position but a Hezbollah launching site that the UN had allowed them to build nearby did Annan finally shut up.

Now Hezbollah has attacked and injured a UNIFIL contingent -- and where is Kofi Annan's outrage? Where is the worldwide media coverage? Where is the global diplomatic condemnation?

Oh, wait a minute -- Hezbollah aren't Jooooooooooos. I forgot.

UPDATE: Stephen Taylor has the Canadian version of the same problem on his site. In this case, Stephen demonstrates the Quote Taken Out Of Context method.

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