I recall reading quite some time ago that after video cameras were installed in police squad cars, complaints of police brutality dropped significantly. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find specific statistics on complaints of police brutality to confirm this, but there would seem to be good reason to expect just such an outcome.
The presence of cameras on the scene would have a two-fold effect. The Police Officers would be aware of being filmed and that they would be held accountable for their behavior and would be much more likely to act in measured and careful ways. At the same time, the accuser would be unlikely to persist in his or her complaints knowing there was film available to disprove a false accusation.
The combination of increased accountability for both Police and those who they stop comes at the cost of some small diminution of people's privacy. The protection offered for both seems well worth the cost.
In my post yesterday I suggested that we approach news of American and Israeli "atrocities" as if the burden of proof is upon the accusers. I would like to humbly suggest we arm ourselves with new weapons in order to blunt the effectiveness of the enemy's propaganda.
Digital cameras are now small enough to mount on a soldier's helmet with minimal discomfort. They are already on UAVs which perform invaluable service around the world. It is time to increase their use and publicize their results. If one of our Marines had been equipped with a digital video camera, the investigation of Haditha would have been facilitated and people like Rep. John Murtha, who has already publicly called them murderers, would never have had the chance to malign our military in the service of his own political agenda.
The possibility of such video being misused (things that occur during the fog of battle may be subject to distortion, pulled out of context, or misrepresented) but overall I think the advantages would outweigh the disadvantages.
On another battle field, the use of video to counteract enemy propaganda is equally important.
Joel Leyden of the Israel News Agency today reports that the exploision on the beach which has now supplied the Palestinians another iconic victim video, is unlikely to have been from Israeli artillery fire:
Israel Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant said today that the Israel Defense Forces has additional evidence that it wasn't Israel artillery that hit the beach in Gaza. Galant, who commands Israel's southern command, said Israel stopped firing 15 minutes before the explosion. It's all on secure videotape from both sides of the conflict. Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was sorry about the deaths, which included three children. [Emphasis mine-SW]
Joel Leyden helpfully recounts various other "Israeli atrocities" that on closer inspection proved to be self-inflicted Palestinian "work accidents" or explicit "martyrdom" operations. His post is worth reading for that alone.
Other sources are suggesting the explosion was from mines that Palestinians have been planting on the beach.
An assertion is not proof, but videotape might be. If such tape exists, the Israelis should release it immediately.
Even without the benefit of Israeli videotape, Richard Landes provides an invaluable look at the details of the events:
Finally, the most important similarity that emerged in the aftermath of both the al Durah and Ghalia family tragedies is that, whatever actually happened, the greatest likelihood (by far) seems to be that the Israelis did not cause the damage in question.
Major Anomalies
There is no evidence of a blast, no crater, not even a disturbance of the sand which has the characteristic patterns of wind-wrought waviness uninterrupted either by a blast or cleaning up from the blast.
The bodies are evacuated from an area where various items one would have expected to have been blown away by an explosion — flip-flops, beach chairs, clothing — are strewn around.
Very little blood is visible anywhere. The child’s body is dark and may be charred, but there are no other signs of burning on the material on either side of him. The disposition of bodies does not seem to accord with an explosion. Perhaps they are in a secondary arrangement, ready for loading on the ambulances.
If we are to blunt the effectiveness of the terrorist's best weapon, their propaganda, we need to be able to, in close to real time, show their cynical machinations. More cameras and more release of video would be invaluable. Perhaps, in an inverted variation of Jonathan Swift's Modest Proposal, it might even help the Islamists refrain from continuing to devour their own children.
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