There have been a number of front-page photos in the daily papers lately of U.S. bombing ISIS positions in Syria from the air. But have you read any articles about the inevitable collateral damage, the impact on civilians resulting from the attacks? Have you seen any statistics on casualties among the population caught in the crossfire?
Neither have we.
Mainstream media was criticized, and rightly so, during the Gaza war this summer for its steady stream of photos and footage of the suffering of Gaza civilians, purposefully trapped in the carnage by Hamas. Too little explanation was provided as to the fact that Israel was responding to attacks initiated by Hamas and that Hamas benefited from high casualty figures among its own people, who were used as fodder.
The media should be explaining why there has been so little ground coverage of the attacks on ISIS, and the effects on cities and villages in the area. In the meantime it’s worth remembering that sometimes what you don’t see is as important as what you do.
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