Ben Shapiro: “Hamas’ goals in this conflict did not include military victory; Hamas may be evil, but it is not stupid. Its main goal was to shore up its base by achieving small concessions from Israel and Egypt, as well as the Palestinian Authority; those concessions could only be achieved if Israel could be portrayed as an international aggressor against a terror group. And that’s where the media manipulation came in. Hamas placed heavy restrictions on journalists and even threatened them. Hamas put women and children and mentally ill people in harm’s way for the cameras, and as a deterrent to Israeli military action. And the media went right along with it, proclaiming balance all the way. … They have turned balance into a synonym for amorality. In doing so, they have handed a propaganda victory to evil.”