Joe Scarborough
American media takes a page from Al-Jazeera
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Now, since 9/11, most Americans have been disgusted by how media outlets across the Arab world have excused the slaughter of innocent U.S. citizens. Arab media outlets dismissed 9/11 as a Jewish conspiracy initially, until bin Laden admitted that he was the murderer of 3,000 American souls. Since then, distortions have littered Arab papers all across the world, talking about the United States, its troops and our intentions in Iraq.
The bias has been sickening. But what's even more disgusting is the anti-American slant that Americans are having to endure now in their own country. That's right, I said anti-American. Now, it's not that individuals are consciously rooting against American soldiers at war in newsrooms. It's just that their hatred for George W. Bush, their left-leaning slant and their belief that every president is Nixonian and every war is a sequel to Vietnam leads them to feed their bizarre obsession with anything that hurts our cause overseas.
You know, last night I called it bias, but tonight it's looking more like purposeful distortion. Take my favorite daily read, "The New York Times." After we blasted "The New York Times" last night for ignoring the slaughter of Nick Berg while continuing their obsession over the prison scandal, the top of "The New York Times" was filled with an image of a military man carrying a briefcase. The big news? Inside were some real bad pictures.
Well, stop the presses. Next to that picture was a story on Nick Berg with a headline and a lead that left readers with the very real impression that it was the U.S. government and not Islamic terrorists who were ultimately responsible for Berg's death by detaining him in Iraq. You know, "The Times" never even bothered to tell loyal readers like me that the U.S. government told Berg to get out of Iraq immediately and even offered to fly him to safety?
I had to read an Associated Press story later to learn that Berg got that offer, turned it down, and said he'd rather make the dangerous drive himself to Kuwait. Then there's "The Boston Globe." "The Globe" actually published pictures that reportedly were downloaded from a porn site and passed it off as American soldiers raping Iraqi women. Well, "The Globe" got caught. They apologized and they admitted that picture was a hoax.
Again, I'm not suggesting "The Times" and "The Globe" are acting irresponsible because they hate America, just that they hate America' policy, especially when it's directed by the likes of George Bush or Ronald Reagan. The elite media is causing damage to its reputation that's going to take years to undo in middle America. Their explanation that they're simply seeking the truth just doesn't wash with Americans anymore.
The majority see a liberal agenda that's undermining our efforts overseas and endangering the lives of our soldiers and our sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's an ugly story.
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Former Congressman Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.) hosts “Scarborough Country,” 10 p.m. ET, weeknights on MSNBC. Comment by clicking here.