Here’s what happened yesterday morning along the so-called Blue Line, the internationally recognized, UN-codified border between Israel and Lebanon. Israeli soldiers were trimming trees and clearing brush as they routinely do, because that kind of natural cover has been used by Iranian-backed Hezbollah soldiers to kidnap Israelis and start wars.

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Behind them there was a group of commanders who were supervising the operation, because Israeli protocol calls for troops working near the border to be supervised from afar – again, in case Iranian-backed Hezbollah soldiers try to kidnap Israelis and start wars.

Israel’s physical border fence is very specifically built several meters on the Israeli side of the border inside the Jewish State’s territory, so that the Israelis can safely trim trees and clear brush, because – you know.

At some point soldiers dressed in Lebanese Armed Forces uniforms launched an ambush, with snipers trying to kill the supervising commanders in the distance. The Israelis promptly retaliated, wounding several of the LAF-uniformed soldiers. Then the Israelis – after receiving an explicit request from the other side of the border – suspended their fire so that the wounded could be evacuated. The Lebanese used the momentary humanitarian gesture to again open fire on the Israeli troops – this time it was an RPG at an Israeli tank – and the Israelis again retaliated. Israel is reporting one IDF soldier killed, one wounded.

There’s a post to be written about how this is the predictable outcome of the U.S. pouring weapons and logistical training into the LAF, even though the Lebanese political hierarchy and several LAF units long ago fell under Hezbollah’s control. Of course some of that security assistance will inevitably find its way into a battle with Israel. Of course it will be. But that’s not this post.

This post is about how Reuters is again using their viciously anti-Israel stringers to dishonestly try to blame the violence on Israel. It’s a pitch-perfect repeat of their Jihad Flotilla performance, when they and the rest of the MSM used the early hours after the incident to valorize the ostensibly unarmed activists who of course turned out to be death-worshipping terrorists.

Knowing the now-confirmed facts that you know, see if you can spot what’s wrong with this Reuters caption:

20100803 Reuters Lies Lebanon Border

This was an out-and-out ambush either by Lebanese soldiers or Hezbollah soldiers dressed like Lebanese soldiers. It was pre-planned – you can tell as much by how the commanders were fired upon and not the trimming team – and there was even a photographer on hand. Reuters somehow got that picture, evaluated it, and came to exactly the wrong conclusion. The Israelis were on their side of the border, in a so-called enclave, exercising legitimate authority on their sovereign territory. Even the Lebanese have admitted as much in the past, though they don’t like it and complain about how it increases tensions or whatever.

But Reuters immediately published a seemingly conclusive photo and caption insisting the exact opposite. Strange how their mistakes always coincide with anti-Israel propaganda.