At Reuters, ‘Not Refuting’ Is the Same as ‘Seeing’
Maybe next time Reuters could wait for a somewhat stronger suggestion—involving actual evidence, perhaps—before running a story that could inflame the new Cold War.
‘How Many Afghans Have to Grow Up Knowing Nothing but War?’
“There is now no question about US accountability; the real question will be whether there will be anyone held accountable for this decision.”
Phyllis Bennis on US Bombing of Afghan Hospital
The hospital attack is not the first of its kind, nor—if we take the advice of generals that the incident means the US should increase its military presence in the country—will it likely be the last. After 14 years of war on Afghanistan, what has the US achieved?
NYT Continues to Obscure Responsibility in US’s Bombing of Hospital
Will any high-ranking official in the United States face repercussions over the hospital slaughter? It seems unlikely, given how the New York Times and other US outlets have diffused responsibility for the atrocity.
Media Are Blamed as US Bombing of Afghan Hospital Is Covered Up
Ambiguous, misleading and even downright dishonest language abounds throughout the coverage of the US bombing of an Afghan hospital.
War Works—So Why Isn’t It Working?
“About 800 airstrikes so far against ISIS. Why isn’t this working?” What makes a seemingly innocuous question like that noteworthy is the assumption that airstrikes are supposed to “work” in the first place.
Roberto Lovato on Mexico, Ann Jones on Afghanistan
This week on CounterSpin: The disappearance of 48 student activists in Mexico has brought hundreds of thousands of activists to the streets, demanding accountability from the US-allied president who just months ago was being cheered by Time magazine as the man who would save Mexico. We’ll talk to journalist Roberto Lovato about the crisis in Mexico and the reasons the story isn’t getting enough coverage in the US press.
Also this week: US media presented the election of Ashraf Ghani as Afghanistan’s president as good news, largely because he would sign an agreement allowing US forces to remain in the country. Afghan women had different reasons to be tentatively hopeful; but then, who remembers Afghan women? We’ll talk with journalist Ann Jones about her new article, The Missing Women of Afghanistan.
Washington Post Editorial Page, Meet Noam Chomsky
The Washington Post stands firm against Russian aggression, since Putin has violated an “international norm” that is “uncontroversial.” Do those rules apply to the US, though?
The World as WaPo Would Like It to Be
Obama’s foreign policy is invariably analyzed as being either foolishly pacifistic or prudently diplomatic. The reality that the Obama administration has used military force on a large scale in many countries is not acknowledged.
Action Alert: NYT Skips First Big Test of New Torture Policy
FAIR’s new Action Alert (8/18/14) calls out the New York Times for not covering a major Amnesty International report on US torture—shortly after the paper announced a new policy of calling torture by its right name. If you send a message to the Times, please leave a copy in the comments thread to this post. […]
Dear USA Today: Civilian Drone Deaths Aren’t ‘Charges’
It is a fact that drone strikes kill civilians– not, as USA Today put it, a “charge.”
Botching the Prisoners ‘Returning to the Battlefield’ Story
In their Bowe Bergdahl coverage, some media outlets are stoking fears about freed Guantanamo prisoners ‘returning to the battlefield.’
FAIR TV: Obama’s Forgotten ‘Surge,’ Rebranding Jeb Bush, Climate Expert Coulter
This week: Obama’s Afghan War drawdown was big news–but what do media leave out of the story of the White House’s war strategy? Plus the New York Times assists in a Jeb Bush rebranding effort and CNN goes to climate change expert…Ann Coulter? Watch:
Crediting Obama for Bringing Troops Home–Without Noting He Sent Them Abroad
NPR tells listeners that Obama has cut troop levels in Afghanistan by two-thirds–but doesn’t explain that he massively escalated the war.
O’Reilly: Back from Vacation, Still Hating Muslims
Bill O’Reilly uses the horrible Boko Haram kidnappings to launch into yet another tirade against Muslims.
Phyllis Bennis on Afghan Elections, Alfie Kohn on The Myth of the Spoiled Child
CBS told viewers the recent presidential election in Afghanistan was a major victory for the US military. The idea that 12 years of war and occupation have gifted that country with peace and stability is shaping up as the line of the day in US media. Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies has a different take.
And author Alfie Kohn talks about his new provocative new book, “The Myth of the Spoiled Child,” which argues that much of the conventional wisdom about children and parenting is just wrong.
No, Putin Isn’t Following ‘Reagan Playbook’ in Ukraine—Thank God
When the Washington Post’s David Ignatius writes a column headlined “Putin Steals the CIA’s Playbook on Anti-Soviet Covert Operations,” is that supposed to be a criticism or a compliment?
Hawks Want Obama to Be More Like Jimmy Carter
Pundits like Charles Krauthammer have fond memories of the Afghan/Soviet war, and want Obama to be more like Jimmy Carter so that the Ukraine crisis can have a similarly happy result.
Obama’s Imaginary Foreign Policy ‘Caution’
The NY Times once again advances the idea that Barack Obama’s foreign policy is alarmingly noninterventionist. Which is true, when you discount all the evidence to the contrary.
NYT Most Interested in Kids US Killed if US Might Not Have Killed Them
New York Times journalists do not like being lied to. Unless it’s their own government doing the lying; then they tend to be more forgiving.
