However...

However, Warikoo wrote about Hizbullah in such a way that one might think it was exclusively supported by the Shi\'a when in fact the movement has often been supported by factions of other religious communities also.

This was especially true by the end of the conflict when many Christians who had initially criticized the Hizbullah for starting a war without consulting outsiders to the organization had their hometowns leveled and saw the Hizbullah\'s continued stand as either a source of hope, a vindication of the group\'s capture of the Israeli soldiers or both. Christians, Druze and Sunnis Muslims throughout the conflict provided shelter to fellow Lebanese and sought to protect them from Israel\'s onslaught.

This rapprochement was also largely absent from the discourse. The question of who should be quoted during the conflict also showed considerable bias. When showing the Lebanese side of the conflict, almost invariably it was Lebanese residing in America who were asked their opinions, not citizens of Lebanon proper. Lebanese people living in Lebanon were almost entirely absent from the discourse analyzed for this project. Israeli citizens on the other hand were constantly being interviewed.

This is problematic in that all Israelis regardless of their political or religious affiliation were portrayed as victims united by a common enemy but Lebanese were reported as divided into factions, not helping one another. Here is a typical example of how Israelis were portrayed: Israeli leaders have warned that the battle could be a long one.

They say that Israel will not accept a return to the conditions that existed before the fighting broke out, with Hizballah, not the Lebanese army, controlling Lebanon\'s southern border with Israel. … Most northern Israeli cities are now ghost towns. Residents have fled south, taking refuge in bomb shelters or remaining inside their homes. \'We never dreamed the terror would arrive here\', Kamisa said as he inspected the damaged home.

One Israeli man, Rafi Cohen, traveled north to show solidarity with people in the coastal town of Nahariya, which has been hit hard. But when he showed up at the beach, which is usually crowded on Saturdays in the summer, he was alone and a bit surprised. \'We should show Hizballah how strong we are and live our lives as normal\', Cohen said. Wrote Warikoo on July 14: "Some Christian Lebanese-Americans in metro Detroit also blamed Hizballah for the latest conflict.