peripathetic

The focus has finally narrowed
In war, sooner or later, the cameras stop concentrating on the strategy. They pan away from the issues, and turn their lenses on the smallest (and arguably most important) issues. And in war, those issues are about individuals or groups - about people. In war, those people are usually soldiers.

In the past 24 hours, a US 101st Airborne soldier has been detained for rolling grenades into the tents of his superiors as they slept, killing one and injuring 15. Apparently, there were a few explosions in the night, people in neighbouring tents got hit by shrapnel, and soldiers scrambled to their emergency positions as others conducted a search of the camp. The perpetrator was quickly found.

In the past 24 hours, American soldiers have been captured by the Iraqis, paraded in front of TV cameras in violation of the Geneva Conventions, and as the TV networks worry about whether or not to show the footage, they also have to wrestle harder over whether to show the grisly footage of other, dead, US soldiers.

In the past 24 hours, a helicopter has come down inside Iraq, its crew missing and 2 helmets left at the scene.

In the past 24 hours, US troops have captured a chemical plant. In the past 24 hours, two helicopters collided in the Gulf, killing all soldiers and crew, and a Patriot missile destroyed a jet and killed both pilots in a friendly fire incident.

In 'the past 24 hours', in other words, a lot happens to individual people inside a war zone. It's war; that's what happens. No war can be absolutely clinical; when weapons are involved, no-one can be absolutely safe.

I guarantee that if the war was not taking place, this story would be front-page news all over the world.