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 How
the Media Kill
None dare call it irresponsibility…
[by Cliff Kincaid] 9/15/05
“This
year is already the deadliest for American soldiers in Afghanistan
since the war of 2001, and the violence is likely to intensify
before the nation’s legislative elections on Sept. 18.” That
was the lead in an August 22 New York Times story by Carlotta
Gall. There was another reason why violence has accelerated
this year. But the Times didn’t want to mention it. And
that is that Newsweek’s false “Koran in
the toilet” story unleashed the forces of global terror
against our troops.
Contributor
Cliff Kincaid
Cliff Kincaid, serves as editor of the Accuracy
in Media (AIM) Report. A veteran journalist and media critic, Cliff has
appeared on the Fox News programs Hannity & Colmes and The O'Reilly Factor,
where he debated O'Reilly on global warming, the death penalty, and the homosexual
agenda. He was a guest co-host on CNN's Crossfire (filling in for Pat Buchanan)
in the 1980s, where he confronted the then-Libyan Ambassador to the U.N. with
evidence of Libyan involvement in international terrorism. Through his America's
Survival, Inc., organization (www.usasurvival.org),
he has been an advocate on behalf of the families of victims of terrorism and
has published reports and held conferences critical of the United Nations.
His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, Washington Times, Chronicles,
Human Events, Insight, and other publications. He served on the staff
of Human Events for several years and was an editorial writer and
newsletter editor for former National Security Council staffer Oliver North
at his Freedom Alliance educational foundation. He has written or co-authored
nine books on media and cultural affairs and foreign policy issues. Cliff is
married and has three sons.[go to Kincaid index]
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Some think that General Richard Myers absolved
Newsweek of any role in the riots that killed 17 people
in Afghanistan and provoked
anti-American protests across the Middle East. That is definitely
not the case. In fact, in a declaration in an ACLU lawsuit over
the release of photos and images of alleged Iraqi prisoner abuse,
Myers noted that the remnants of the Taliban “were quick
to capitalize” on the protests against the alleged desecration
of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay.
He explained, “On April 30, 2005, Newsweek reported that
an unnamed U.S. official had seen a government report documenting
desecration of the Koran at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. On May 16, 2005, Newsweek retracted a statement in the
article that the abuse had been uncovered in an ‘internal
military investigation’ after its source was unable to
confirm where he had seen the purported information..”
Myers noted that the Koran’s alleged desecration, as reported
by Newsweek, “was perceived as such an affront to the Islamic
faith that massive anti-U.S. demonstrations quickly erupted in
the Palestinian territories, Egypt, Sudan, Bangladesh, Pakistan,
and Indonesia. Our intelligence assessments indicate that the
volatile public sentiments in these Muslim countries were exploited
by organized, anti-American extremists who succeeded in fomenting
violent and deadly demonstrations. In Afghanistan, in particular,
where over 19,000 U.S. troops are currently serving in Operation
Enduring Freedom, violence erupted as a result of the Newsweek report. Demonstrations began in the eastern provinces and spread
to the capital, Kabul. The United Nations, as a precautionary
measure, withdrew its entire foreign staff from Jalalabad, where
two of its guesthouses were attacked, government buildings and
shops were targeted, and the offices of two international aid
groups were destroyed. At least 17 deaths in Afghanistan were
attributed to the reaction to the Koran story.”
We noted that, in a follow-up about the Koran-toilet
story, Richard M. Smith, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of
Newsweek,
said that “…we got an important story wrong, and
honor requires us to admit our mistake and redouble our efforts
to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.” But
Newsweek staffers didn’t suffer any adverse consequences.
How honorable was that, considering that the violence which resulted
from the story “may have been related to what we published,” Smith
admitted. Smith added, “To the extent that our story played
a role in contributing to such violence, we are deeply sorry.” They
may all be sorry but they all have their jobs.
Jawed Ludin, a spokesman for Afghan president
Hamed Karzai, said, “We can say that Newsweek is responsible
for recent violent demonstrations, killing several people and
damaging public
and private properties.”
Spokesman Ludin did not say whether the Afghan
government would sue the magazine or ask for compensation,
but AIM noted that
the Post Company is a rich corporation, with a market value of
$8.5 billion and 2004 operating revenues of $3.3 billion. We
urged Newsweek’s parent company, headed by Donald E. Graham,
to make a generous offer to compensate the families of the victims
of the violence, and pay to rebuild or repair the properties
that were damaged or destroyed in the Newsweek-inspired riots.
The Washington
Post Company has not made such an offer. And
to add insult to injury, the Post pulled out of a Pentagon-sponsored
Freedom Walk to commemorate 9/11 and support our troops in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and around the world.
Thanks to the Washington
Post Company and its
property, Newsweek, the damage has been done. And this is one
reason why this year
has been so deadly for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The Times
didn’t want to draw attention to the blood on the hands
of the media. This is the kind of blindness that could facilitate
the suicide of the West in the battle with radical Islam. tRO
copyright
2005 Accuracy in Media
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