A Tangled Web

THE FIRST CASUALTY OF WAR IS CONTEXT...



With her usual perspecuity, Barbara Amiel makes a brilliant point in today's Telegraph. (Daily, not Belfast!)



"The first casualty of war, it is claimed, is truth. I'd say the first casualty is context. Demanding that troops, who are subject on a daily basis to roadside bombs, suicide attacks, ambushes and rocket-propelled grenades, should respond without any cruel or unprofessional incidents would be a demand for sainthood. These troops face resentment and hatred from some of the very people they came to liberate. Most coalition troops feel, mistakenly or not, that they are doing a favor to people with a personal animosity and primitive methods not usually found in Western warfare."



Amen to that.