Collateral Damage is a bizarrely levelling force

Collateral Damage is a bizarrely levelling force. It presents an unjust and unedifying mordant dread for those caught unawares in its blistering range. And for those deliberate enough to exploit and capitalise on the vulnerable within their geographic range, they are merely, it seems, a hand to be played.

This past week has brought all the main rudiments of loss of life and limb to innocent participants in others’ conflict. British holiday makers suffer miserably as a splinter group of Kurdish separatists use their presence to publicise a cause that is both known, and widely supported in the democratic European Union, to which Turkey seeks entry. Ironically, such actions can only further jeopardise Turkey’s chances of successful entry into the EU. No matter, reason the separatists – their concerns are more immediate than the lengthy ongoing accession negotiations.

Similarly, in our last Blog item, we wrote about Hezbollah and their manipulation of the local population in Southern Lebanon. Collateral Damage knows no borders, no ideologies nor moralities. It is what it is, a blunt and terrifying presence – not showing favour as too which side suffers more acutely. Which side, that is, of the perpetrators: the victims are non-aligned – that is their designation.