Here’s the way not to report from a war-zone. Western journalist parachutes into a country and starts condemning the actions of the Libyan rebels, offering advice how to better fight a war. Because a Murdoch hack who lives a comfortable middle class existence in Israel knows so much about winning wars against dictators.
If you’re going to engage in a military confrontation with one of the nastiest of the Arab dictators, there are some fairly simple rules you should follow.
Libya’s rebels are being slaughtered. Muammar Gaddafi has paid African mercenaries to fire anti-tank shells and rocket-propelled grenades at unarmed Libyans.
The odds of the rebels succeeding without any international support were never high. They’re not helping themselves by breaking almost every rule in the book.
Here is a dummies’ guide on how to stage a violent uprising against a ruthless dictator.
Rule 1: Forget the media. The rebels should be concentrating on the foe, but many have become obsessed with camera crews, playing up to them at every opportunity.
Rule 2: Spread out. It makes no sense on a battlefield to have all your anti-aircraft guns grouped together — one Gaddafi bomb and you lose several guns and men.
Rule 3: Don’t smoke hashish. Some American troops in Vietnam did it but it didn’t help them either. When you’re so heavily outgunned and out-trained, you need all your wits.
Rule 4: You are not Rambo. Real soldiers don’t go around shooting machineguns and AK-47s with one arm.