On NPR this morning, Ramez Maalouf, a journalism professor at the Lebanese American University, discussed the Arab world's reaction to the US lead WOT, Guantanamo, Koran desecration, 9/11, etc., and had some very interesting points. He monitors many different TV programs and offered his sense of the dominant Arab attitudes toward the United States.
Maalouf mentioned that after 9/11 there was a great deal of sympathy for the United States but that our reaction, of going into Afghanistan, then Iraq, and setting up Gitmo, dissipated much of the good will. As he put it, the Arabs do not like to think of themselves as "bad guys" and naturally felt aggrieved when the US attacked them; 9/11 was quickly forgotten and discounted as a reason for our response.
When the subject turned specifically to Gitmo, Maalouf said that while there had been many stories from detainees of the Koran being abused, the stories were discounted until a respected American media outlet, Newsweek, printed the story of the "Flushing Koran". At that point people in the Arab world took it as proof that the US was not only abusing detainees (which they had always assumed and were relatively untroubled by), but were also desecrating Korans. When Newsweek retracted their story, no one believed the retraction; the interesting point is why no one believed the retraction. Since the abuses of Abu Graib had been so well documented by the American media, the Arab people were predisposed to believe that American soldiers were hateful toward Muslims and thus, the desecration stories were easily believed, fitting into the template of America that most had form their own media, superbly reinforced by the thoughtless efforts of our major media.
Every time the New York Times repeats Abu Graib stories and suggest Arab detainees are being denied their rights (which, I suppose they are, being held as terrorists and all) and every time some fool like Eason Jordan claims we are targeting journalists, and every time it is seconded by Linda Foley, and every time a "highly respected" news magazine like Newsweek publishes unsubstantiated rumors (originating in detainees who are trained to make such accusations), we move one step closer to a true clash of civilizations.
Once the Iranians have the bomb, does anyone have any confidence that it will not be used?
Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Gaza, Indonesia, Somalia, Lodi, Ca ... these are all fronts in the same war. We are fighting with great restraint. If there is another 9/11, who has any confidence that the gloves will not come off?
It is hard for me to believe our MSM and our Democratic politicians consciously desire such an outcome, yet their behavior makes it more and more likely.
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