Getting It Straight - July 25, 2006 - The New York Sun

Getting It Straight - July 25, 2006 - The New York Sun: "On July 17, 2006, Human Rights Watch issued a document entitled 'Questions and Answers on Hostilities Between Israel and Hezbollah' with the stated purpose of 'provid[ing] analytic guidance for those who are examining the fighting as well as for the parties to the conflict and those with the capacity to influence them.'

The piece purports to be a neutral guide setting out the legal rules governing the current hostilities in Lebanon. However, the authors' distorted views of the underlying facts, selective omission of crucial legal issues, and insistent characterization of Hezbollah and Israel as the primary legal actors — with the attendant implied denial of legal responsibility of Lebanon, Syria, and Iran to end their support for Hezbollah — all mislead readers and betray the bias of the piece. This is a consistent pattern followed by HRW in activities related to the Middle East."