The Ghost of Snapped Shot

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Agence France-Presse: Not Affiliated with Intelligence by Brian C. Ledbetter on 21-Jan-2009

I'm guessing that Patrick Baz/AFP would readily identify this guy as a "civilian", judging by the caption:

A members of the Palestinian National Guard affiliated with Hamas, walks on the rubble of the bombed National Guard headquarters in Gaza City on January 21, 2009. The last Israeli soldier withdrew from the Gaza Strip today, the fourth day of a ceasefire that ended a 22-day blitz on the Islamist Hamas movement in which 1,300 Palestinians were killed. AFP PHOTO/PATRICK BAZ (Photo credit should read PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Question: How does one determine the difference between a civilian holding guns who is "affiliated" with Hamas, and one who is Hamas?

The wonders of guerilla warfare—in which a quasi-military force refuses to wear a uniform, in order to blend in with the population from which they spring—will endlessly escape the idealists in Gay Paree, it seems.

Tags: patrick baz AFP #Intifada

Comments:

#1 DMartyr 21-Jan-2009

Well, Hamas wears green keffiyehs, Hamas affiliates wear red or white keffiyehs.

#2 captainfish 24-Jan-2009

Brian, its obvious. You can tell by the form fitting uniform and the policy-appropriate neck attire.

Besides, if he was true Hamas, he wouldn't be alone in front of the camera.