AP To The Rescue
Perhaps someone should have explained to the Associated Press that defending the reputation of someone caught red-handed is somewhat laughable. They have written up a positively glowing puff piece about the man being called "Green Helmet" by people in the blogosphere. (Please look at the video if you need to see Green Helmet abusing a dead child's body and posing it repeatedly for cameramen.)
(Salam) Daher, a member of the civil defense for 20 years, has been photographed with bodies of the dead in two wars now — first in 1996 and most recently with the baby on July 30 __ both times after Israeli attacks in the village of Qana six miles southeast of the city.
For that reason, some Web sites have labeled him the "Green Helmet," and accused him of being a member of the Hezbollah guerrilla group, and of showing off bodies as propaganda.
"But that isn't true," he told The Associated Press. He is not affiliated with any party, he said. "I am just a civil defense worker. I have done this job all my life."
Daher said he started when he was 19 years old, and now heads operations of the civil defense for the southern port city of Tyre and the surrounding region. It is a government job, part of Lebanon's interior ministry. When bombs strike, he races his ambulance along narrow country roads, digs through rubble and tries to save the living from flattened buildings.
As to why he poses dead children? Why heck, that's just part of the job according to the AP:
After hours of digging, Daher emerged with the youngest victim. In a parched voice, he shouted something in Arabic and held the child up for the photographer.
To many in the West, such photographs are surprising; but they are not unusual in the Middle East, where grief and drama are often intertwined, and that can include displaying of bodies.
Bloggers have accused rescue workers and volunteers of showing off victims for the media. The Lebanese make no apologies for wanting the world to see the civilian suffering in the Israeli onslaught aimed at uprooting Hezbollah.
Please note: This is being said after the AP HEATEDLY denied allowing or using staged photographs. They literally cannot keep their lies straight anymore. There are simply too many of them.
Other Links to this Post
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The Real Ugly American.com » Blog Archive » AP Puff Piece on Green Helmet — Saturday, 12 August , 2006 @ 9:19 am
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Media Lies — Saturday, 12 August , 2006 @ 9:32 am
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Flopping Aces » Blog Archive » The AP Propaganda Machine — Saturday, 12 August , 2006 @ 12:11 pm
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Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » One Side Views Death As A Tragedy — Saturday, 12 August , 2006 @ 12:25 pm
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stikNstein....has no mercy — Monday, 14 August , 2006 @ 2:02 pm
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Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » AP Still Defending “Green Helmet” — Wednesday, 16 August , 2006 @ 6:08 am
By Jim Treacher, Saturday, 12 August , 2006 @ 10:15 am
Once again, it’s cultural differences. Staging photographs is just how they express themselves. We really need to respect their beliefs. Etc.
By Gaius, Saturday, 12 August , 2006 @ 10:29 am
It’s part of my culture that everyone give me gobs of cash. Please respect that. Small bills, no consecutive serial numbers. Thank you.