Sunday, April 02, 2006
Palestinian Gunmen Picking Up Bad Habits
I can think of two obvious ways to move around in the middle of an armed conflict. One way is to move cautiously, seeking cover where available, being careful not to expose oneself to enemy fire. The other way is to run down the middle of the street with your gun held loosely yet photogenically in one hand, worrying only about drawing the attention of journalists.
This gunman is displaying the poor habits he and his compatriots have unfortunately picked up over the years of staging public attacks against Israeli fortifications in front of cheering crowds of onlookers.
If you're not familiar with the particulars of how armed demonstrations are typically scripted around Israeli positions, I again highly recommend seeing for yourself how it works in this important video. (Hat tip: Mensa Barbie)
The fact that three were killed and twelve wounded proves the gunmen have tragically lost any instinctive sense of the danger associated with attacking an armed opponent. They've made the mistake of assuming every armed opponent will copy the restrained Israeli behavior they've encountered so many times before -- hunkering down behind armor, or wafting a little tear gas, or firing off a few rounds of "rubber coated steel bullets." Apparently their partners in these internecine squabbles aren't playing by Israeli rules, which can make these photo-ops just a tad more risky.
Pity.
If you really, really liked this -- or even really, really hated it -- there's lots more:
A Palestinian gunman runs during clashes between gunmen and security forces in Gaza March 31, 2006. Three Palestinians were killed and 12 were wounded on Friday in clashes in Gaza between gunmen and security forces after a top militant died in a car explosion, Palestinian medics said. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
If you're not familiar with the particulars of how armed demonstrations are typically scripted around Israeli positions, I again highly recommend seeing for yourself how it works in this important video. (Hat tip: Mensa Barbie)
The fact that three were killed and twelve wounded proves the gunmen have tragically lost any instinctive sense of the danger associated with attacking an armed opponent. They've made the mistake of assuming every armed opponent will copy the restrained Israeli behavior they've encountered so many times before -- hunkering down behind armor, or wafting a little tear gas, or firing off a few rounds of "rubber coated steel bullets." Apparently their partners in these internecine squabbles aren't playing by Israeli rules, which can make these photo-ops just a tad more risky.
Pity.
