Davids Medienkritik

Post Execution Media Reaction: The Death Penalty - Really a Wedge Issue?

(By Ray D.)

Majorities in USA and Europe Favor Saddam Execution

The recent results of a poll conducted by Novatris/Harris for the French daily Le Monde on the death penalty shocked the editors and writers at Germany's left-leaning SPIEGEL ONLINE. When asked whether they favored the death penalty for Saddam Hussein, a majority of respondents in Germany, France and Spain responded in the affirmative. Here the results by country:

Percentage of respondents in favor of executing Saddam Hussein:

USA: 82%
Great Britain: 69%
France: 58%
Germany: 53%
Spain: 51%
Italy: 46%

Clearly, there is a gap between the United States and the European nations polled. On the other hand, the western Europeans polled demonstrated that there is majority support for the death penalty in particular cases. In other words, the gap that exists across the Atlantic is not at all the clear-cut, "black-white" divide that some in media make it out to be.

Die Zeit: "The Europeans condemn the use of the death penalty" / Do they? The poll numbers above contradict that assumption.

Frankfurter Allgemeine: "President Bush praised the execution, from Europe came sharp criticism." / A tempting -and in the media oft used- opportunity to again pit "Europe" against Bush. A more intellectually honest headline would have pointed out that the majority of the criticism coming from "Europe" has emanated from a tiny media-political elite. The rest of society is evenly divided.

ZDF Heute Online: "Bush Welcomes Saddam's Execution - Criticism from Europe: Divided Reactions to Death Penalty: US President George W. Bush greeted the execution of Saddam Hussein as a milestone on the way to a democratic Iraq. In contrast, criticism came from European countries and human rights organizations - they reject the death penalty as a matter of principle." / ZDF is clearly attempting to create an "us versus them" - "Europe versus Bush and America" wedge issue out of the death penalty. This piece also totally ignores the opinions of the average German.

Deutsche Welle: "Europe condemns death penalty" / But what about the more than half the population in Germany and other European nations that does not condemn it in Saddam's case? Do they simply not matter? Do they somehow not exist for certain media-political elites? Why are their views systematically ignored?

Sueddeutsche published a piece entitled: "Worldwide Sharp Criticism of the Execution." The piece goes nation by nation and lists criticisms as if they represented the view of the entire country. It does not mention poll results that indicate majorities in many of the same countries actually favored Saddam's execution.

Other media outlets, including Financial Times Deutschland and even SPIEGEL ONLINE have actually treated the death penalty question as a debate instead of falsely claiming that an imaginary, monolithic "Europe" has "sharply criticized" Saddam's execution. Another major theme in most of the Western media is that Saddam's execution does not help Iraq - in other words, more of the usual pessimism.

Additionally, there has long been a heated debate on the death penalty in the United States. Several U.S. states do not legally permit executions or do not make (wide) use of them. From the mid 1960s to the mid 1980s, executions came to a near standstill in the United States, in part because of legal challenges which culminated in the Supreme Court's 1972 Furman vs. Georgia decision. Recently, a botched execution in Florida led Republican Governor Jeb Bush to suspend the death penalty as a federal judge in California imposed a moratorium halting executions in that state. 

Put another way: There is a lively debate on the death penalty on both sides of the Atlantic, with significant numbers and powerful factions on either side. Unfortunately, many in the German media have made death penalty out to be a divisive, "good versus evil" wedge issue. This stems in part from the transatlantic legal contrast: Most European nations have banned the death penalty while it remains legal in much of the United States.

The desire in influential segments of German media and society to reduce the death penalty to the level of a transatlantic wedge issue is also deeply rooted in another key factor: Ideology. The far-left in Germany is a political force to be reckoned with. Its representatives dominate wide swaths of the media, academia and certain political parties including the SPD, Greens and the PDS. Not only do representatives of the far-left reject the death penalty in all cases (putting them at odds with many ordinary Germans), they also oppose American-style free-market capitalism, smaller, less restrictive government, and the projection of American power in the world. This movement consists largely of an assortment of 68-radicals (including ex-Maoists, Leninists, RAF sympathizers, and your run-of-the mill Socialist demonstrators); ex-eastern-bloc-Communists; young people radicalized through academia, media and far-left political parties and movements; and out-and-out America-haters. Quite honestly, these folks would have rejected the execution of Hitler and Eichmann just as they reject the execution of Saddam. Ironically, they see the issue as a "black-and-white" - "with us or against us" issue. (Sound familiar?)

Nonetheless the death penalty remains contentious. Conservatives, libertarians and European Liberale, who traditionally favor a less powerful, less intrusive government, must ask themselves if they trust the state to determine who should live and who should die. Furthermore, they must consider whether the death penalty in the United States has become so legally contentious (filled with endless appeals, challenges and expenses) that it is practically (if not also ethically) questionable?

These are the debates that citizens on both sides of the Atlantic should be having with one another and not against one another, as many on the far-left would have it. The real "wedge", in this and many other cases, is not a transatlantic one. The real "wedge" is and has long been firmly lodged between the Angry left and the rest of society.

As the poll numbers above demonstrate, the peoples of the United States and Europe are not nearly as far apart on the death penalty as some would have us believe. Sadly, in a media culture that thrives on creating new controversies and divisions and exacerbating old ones (whether real or imagined) you might never know it.

UPDATE: Watch the full Saddam execution here:

A quick and painless death for a tyrant responsible for the murder and torture of so many.

UPDATE #2: Another poll conducted for the far-left publication stern confirms that significantly more Germans support the death penalty for Saddam than oppose it. The results of that poll:

In favor of executing Saddam: 50%
Against executing Saddam: 39%
Don't know: 11%

Stern graphic: "No Mercy for Saddam: Should the death penalty be enforced against Saddam Hussein?"

Stern may be a populist, trashy, anti-American media outlet, but they sure can put together a good graphic!

Fingers Firmly on the Pulse of the Great Satan

(Here's another submission for your enjoyment by Bob Skinner. German bloggers are welcome to submit articles as well. Want to get noticed on DMK? Have something to say about German media or German-American relations? Click here...)

UPDATE: We've received an objection from Financial Times Deutschland Op-Ed editor Christian Schuette. He writes that Bob is incorrect to question the paper's report on Afghani brothels serving US troops and contractors and insists that the reporter in question, Britta Petersen, made use of reliable local sources. He challenges Bob's reliance on Google to reject Ms. Petersen's claims. What's your take? Comment here...

American liberals frequently tell the rest of us that we need to be more like those Europeans. It's not clear, though, how many of these liberals actually read European papers, and whether that would change their take on things. Over the last few months I've translated a couple of dozen editorials from German-language papers for Watching America and I can offer a few observations on the approach of the some of the German, Austrian, and Swiss papers. First:  They make stuff up.  An Op Ed in Financial Times Deutschland says:

"Another thing that burned down on May 29 was one of the many brothels which are operated by Americans for their own mercenaries and security forces, and whose existence in Kabul is an open secret."

I'll apologize if I'm wrong, but Mr. Google and I both think this is bogus.

Financial Times Deutschland: America on a Slow Path to Fascism

(By Ray D.)

We at Medienkritik have seen a lot of media folly in three years. But few articles exhibit greater ignorance and the ability to warp views on the nature of democracy in the United States than Thomas Klau's recent column in Financial Times Deutschland. The article, entitled "In Patriotic Morass" makes the following assertion:

"America's military leadership discusses with remarkable openness whether excessive brutality and a lack of cultural sensitivity have contributed to driving Iraqis into the resistance. Whoever follows the political debate and the media reporting in the USA on the matter, however, can hardly find an independently researched word not authorized by the military."

That's right: Mr. Klau honestly believes that the debate over Iraq in the United States is somehow controlled by the US military (and that means Bush must be behind it all.) He believes that the USA has devolved into a land of mind-numbed robots so blinded by patriotism that independent thought is nearly impossible. He continues:

"However in the media something more fundamental is reflected: A society which has dedicated itself, to an unimaginable degree for Europeans, to a cult of Fatherland, flag, soldiering and manliness. "Salute our Heroes," is the name, for example, of a job fair for veterans that is not being organized by the Pentagon, but instead by the "New York Times." The ad contains a snappy photo of a soldier whose aesthetic would remind many, not only Germans, of undemocratic times. And it would be unthinkable in any civilized European nation that a left-liberal newspaper like the "New York Times" would publish a guest commentary in which was written: "Our warriors are the hunters, not the hunted, and we should celebrate them as we did in the past (...) The strength of the pack is the wolf."

Cowardly Politicians

What America's television and daily press ignore is certainly not touched by America's political system. In the public diction of the Republicans and Democrats the US Armed Forces are the best and purest in the world, and their members all heroes, the flower of the nation. A few of the only points of light are offered by monthly magazines such as "New Yorker" and "Vanity Fair." They cultivate a culture of debate that often exceeds that of European counterparts and promotes critical thinking.

But seen as a whole, America's public has been swimming on a wave of patriotic fervor that has hardly subsided since September 2001 and drowns out introspection and the ability to judge all too often in a morass of overly emphatic love of country. In the USA of today the military discusses its own failures more openly and harder than the press and politicians dare to. That says it all. America's democracy must come to its senses before the USA can again live up to its claim to moral and practical leadership in the world."

Of course. Only the "civilized" Europeans can truly claim moral leadership in the world. Put differently, Mr. Klau believes America is on a slow path to Fascism. He believes that freedom of the press is withering in the United States and that no one has the courage to challenge Bush or the military. Apparently the ridiculous assertion that the US media is muzzled or afraid rings more true to the author than the very real dismantling of media freedoms in places like Russia. How many newspapers, radio stations, corporations or political organizations have been shut down lately by the government in the USA?

So we have to ask: What United States is Mr. Klau talking about? Has he missed the daily body counts on CNN and FoxNews? Has he missed the media obsession with Cindy Sheehan? Has he missed President Bush's low approval ratings? Has he missed Michael Moore and Gore Vidal and Al Gore and Al Franken and the hundreds upon hundreds of anti-Bush books published in the USA over the past several years that can be found in virtually any bookstore anywhere in the country? Did he miss the American media's coverage of Abu Ghraib and Haditha? Did he miss the recent media revelation (straight from the New York Times) that the US was eavesdropping and monitoring banking records to track terrorists? Has he completely missed statements by Jack Murtha or Ted Kennedy or John Kerry on US troops and operations in Iraq? Has he missed all of the anti-war demonstrations that have taken place in the US since 2001?

Somehow it seems that Mr. Klau is living in a fantasy vacuum of his own making where only facts that correspond to his worldview are actually acknowledged and real. His citation of an ad for a veterans job fair and an editorial in The New York Times as magic proof that America is becoming a militarist state is so absurd that it would be laughable if so many Germans didn't actually believe it. Mr. Klau is so far out of touch with reality that it is physically painful to imagine how a newspaper like the Financial Times Deutschland could have possibly allowed such pathetic trash to run in the first place. And the German people keep swallowing this garbage day in and day out, believing it to be legitimate and based in fact. Sad but true...

Endnote: Just to be clear, Mr. Klau does not explicitly state that America is on a path to Fascism in his article. We interpret his writing as a clear indication, however, that he sees the situation as such. Thus our title.

Apologies to the London Bombers

Behind all the whining and hand wringing in the German media about the terrorist bombings in London, there is an undercurrent of satisfaction for the 'punishment' of President Bush and Prime Minister Blair because of the 'unjust' war in Iraq. Two commentators - one in the Financial Times Deutschland and the other in the Münchener Merkur - stop short of apologizing to the Islamic terrorists for all the hardship the American government has subjected them to. The bombers really didn't have a choice...

Georg Anastasiadis in the Münchener Merkur:

Lies are catching up with Bush and Blair Terror can’t be defeated without a solution in Iraq. The perpetrators’ background … demonstrates that not just Arabs, but the entire Islamic world is ablaze since American and British troops began fighting in Iraq. And Bush and Blair keep pouring more oil into the all-consuming fire of Terrorism. … The war against terrorism was, at least as far as Iraq was concerned, a disguise from the start for a crusade based on completely different motives. It has dramatically fanaticized the Islamic world and plunged the world into a maelstrom of violence. … Now the dogs of war unleashed by Bush and Blair have reached Europe; small wonder the assassins of London have cited rage over the Iraq war as their motive. Joachim Zepelin in the Financial Times Deutschland (paid content): This War (Iraq war) has acted as a catalyst in many respects. … The extremists can now point out that the USA and the west intend to make the Arab world part of their cultural and economic sphere even if it entails human rights violations. … Instead of proceeding especially prudently and cooperatively in this region (Iraq), they have (Bush and Blair) turned a country that was almost untouched by Islamic terror into a hotbed of radicalism. (Zepelin seems to under the impression that Bush and Blair attacked peaceful and prosperous Switzerland...) Rather than extensively quoting these two card carrying members of the German Bush-bashing media elite, let's see how Dutch writer Leon de Winter, in an interview with Hendryk Broder, perceives the threat of terrorism (hat tip Gerald B.): I can understand that a lot of people dream on and don’t want to acknowledge what’s happening around them. Or that they look for simple explanations like: “If the Americans leave Irak, everything will be alright again.” Or: “If we’re nice to the Islamists, they won’t do anything to us.” I wish it were so. Enlightened Europeans harbor no illusions about what’s driving the fanatics. It’s the idea of a glorious life after death. Everything else is excuses, pretenses, rationalization of the irrational. We’re dealing with a new totalitarianism. No, it’s not new, it’s just different. After the leftist fascism of the Soviets, after the rightist fascism of the Nazis, is the Islamic fascism of the 21st century. ap·pease·ment (ə-pēz'mənt) - "to try to conciliate or bribe (a potential aggressor) by making concessions, frequently with implication of sacrifice of principles", Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1963 edition, as quoted by answer.com.

(Translation of quotes by Richard Bartholomew)

President Bush, You Failed Us Again!

This will hurt lots of feeble souls in the German media and in German politics: President Bush nominated undersecretary of state John R. Bolton to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

JOHN R. BOLTON, of all people!!! The German élites are not amused...

"Mr. Fischer, you get out of here. NOW!"

This guy prefers blunt talk instead of nuanced diplomatic babble, which has become the cornerstone of Germany's highly successful multilateral foreign policy! Members of the German media, known for their courtesy and politeness against Arab dictators and (while they existed) communist leaders, dismissively label Bolton a "neoconservative hardliner" (Financial Times Germany), "right-wing hardliner" (TAZ), and "hawk" (SWR).

Just a few quotes to show the truly evil, neocon nature of this man:

On the International Criminal Court:
America's posture toward the ICC should be "Three Noes": no financial support, directly or indirectly; no cooperation; and no further negotiations with other governments to "improve" the ICC. Such a policy cannot entirely eliminate the risks posed by the ICC, but it can go a long way in that direction.

The United States should raise our objections to the ICC on every appropriate occasion, as part of our larger campaign to assert

The Expanding Options Of Biased Journalism / Die erweiterten Optionen voreingenommenen Journalismus'

(Deutsche Version am Ende des Beitrags)

Many journalists in Germany consider George W. Bush - in accordance with the writings of their hero Michael Moore - a dangerous idiot, who only thinks in black and white.

How to convey that message to the audience?

Some journalists might simply say:

"George W. Bush is a dangerous idiot, who only thinks in black and white."

In a way that suffices, but it's only an opinion of a journalist, and that carries little weight for many folks.

It is somewhat more satisfying to create the impression of an avalanche or at least the beginning of an avalanche:

"More and more people call George W. Bush a dangerous idiot, who only thinks in black and white."

That's ok for a plain vanilla biased article. It is, incidentally, the wording of choice for German left-wing media such as SPIEGEL ONLINE or Stern. Still, if the avalanche concept is used too often in reporting - and it is used excessively in the German media - it's becoming stale, boring, unconvincing.

So for a stronger effect German journalists look for quotes from real people, for instance experts. Like this one:

(Fill in name) calls George W. Bush a dangerous idiot, who only thinks in black and white."

"Experts" who would testify against Bush any time, whether day or night, are in rich supply, and therefore they come cheap. So, indeed, that is a solution chosen frequently, in particular in the electronic media.

Of highest value for the German media are experts with close ties to the Bush administration who are willing to testify against Bush. It doesn't matter if they still have close ties - it is sufficient they have had a working relationship. In this case the reporting would look like this:

"Even (Fill in name), former (please choose one: CIA agent / FBI agent / member of a Pentagon think tank / etc.), calls George W. Bush a dangerous idiot, who only thinks in black and white."

That's great. A former Bush employee supports your prejudices - nothing better could happen to you! This lifts up your article from the stinking pits of biased reporting to the high-brow level of neutrality.

Still, some journalists want to go that extra mile. They want that special something.

Enter Thomas Klau from Financial Times Germany. His sophisticated concept runs like this:

"Even I call George W. Bush a dangerous idiot, who only thinks in black and white."

This is sensational. Klau has reached the ultimate climax of biased reporting: a journalist who quotes himself as a witness of the dumbness of George W. Bush. In his comment:

A Transatlanticist Repents

Thomas Klau reports on his own dramatic loss of support for George W. Bush:

"...I have had to revise a fundamental conviction of mine which was fixed for decades. Up to a year ago, I would have held it for impossible that an American government could fail in such a stupid and spectacular way during such an important test such as the occupation of Iraq as the current administration and their representatives Jay Garner and L. Paul Bremer III. ...

My own change can be seen as symptomatic for a process that will leave deep impressions on Transatlantic relations and in political life in the coming decades."

Bravo, Thomas Klau! I guess you're the first journalist who uses himself as a witness against Bush. A completely new approach. It's brilliant! I mean, just consider how inexpensive investigative journalism will be in the future: rather than spending valuable time chasing "experts" who conform with your opinion, all you have to do is to interview yourself and comment on your answers. Why didn't anybody invent this sort of introspective journalism before?

(Translation by Ray D.)

Europe Loves Kerry / Europa liebt Kerry

(Deutsche Übersetzung am Ende des Beitrags)

Europe to USA: Well, you really screwed up the Iraq situation despite our good advice, but we are still willing to forgive you... All you have to do is: VOTE KERRY!!

FTD (Financial Times Germany):

Europe would vote Kerry

His first cousin is a French mayor. His father was a diplomat. He spent school years in Switzerland, among other countries, and now and then vacationed in Brittany. His wife grew up in a Portuguese-controlled part of Africa. He thinks the death-penalty is bad and thinks the Kyoto Protocol, intended to protect the global climate, is good. If the Europeans were allowed to vote for the US President this coming November, a triumph for the Democratic challenger John Kerry would be assured. …

Never has a US President been so disliked in Europe as George W. Bush. A renewed decision on the part of the Americans for this president would strengthen the growing camp of those who see the largest possible autonomy from the USA as the best answer to Europe’s problems.

Even if it was close – a renewed election victory for Bush would confirm the feeling in Europe that America’s word and America’s competence can no longer be relied upon.

The enormous popularity of Bill Clinton showed that Europeans, today just as 40 years ago, react thankfully to a US President who appreciates their culture and approaches the European system of values with respect.

…The period of transatlantic speechlessness will first be at an end, when the President is replaced by his successor. (our translation/emphasis added)

Just to clarify our position beyond any doubt, American cowboys: We never, ever would have accepted your modest help liberating France twice, crushing first the Kaiser and then Hitler, rebuilding Germany, securing Berlin’s freedom, removing Milosevic, etc., etc., - had we known of your tendency to vote unsophisticated, backwoods hick Presidents into office!

Kerry's Europe's man...

(And here's how you can make the German anti-Bush crowd REALLY angry...)

(Translation by Ray Drake)

You might be interested in these postings, too:
- Clueless At The UN - And In Germany
- The Kerry Miracle

(Hat tip Gabi)

Parallelschwung der Oberlehrer / Synchronization Amongst Germany's Know-It-Alls

(English version at end of post)

Die Oberlehrer der Financial Times Deutschland und der Deutschen Welle üben sich im Parallelschwung.

Financial Times Deutschland: Bushs schöne leere Worte

Im Nahen Osten ist der mit vielen Hoffnungen gestartete Friedensprozess gescheitert. Da hilft es niemandem, wenn Bush die Palästinenser ermahnt, den Weg der Demokratie zu wählen. Nötig wären kraftvolle Nahost-Initiativen, die der Präsident mit Rücksicht auf den Wahlkampf aber nicht riskieren mag. ... Das Problem an Bushs Projekt ist, dass sich hinter den schönen Worten ein erschreckender Mangel an konkreten Konzepten und wirklichem Engagement auftut

In Irak stecken die Amerikaner militärisch und politisch in einer Sackgasse. Nur mit Müh und Not kann der Austausch der Truppen im nächsten Jahr bewerkstelligt werden. ... Ein zentraler Baustein der US-Strategie scheint jedoch weiter das Prinzip Hoffnung zu sein. Wenn Bush sich nicht stärker für sein großes Projekt engagiert, dann ist sein Idealismus nicht bloß naiv - sondern höchst gefährlich.

Deutsche Welle: Bushs schöne Worte

Einen Ruf als Vorbild oder ehrlicher Partner müssen sich die USA in dieser Region erst noch erarbeiten. Im Irak sind sie mit ihren hehren Ansprüchen bisher weitgehend gescheitert. Das völlig korrupte islamistische Regime in Saudi-Arabien dagegen wird bis heute verschont. Und, besonders fatal: Washington lässt bisher keinerlei ernsthafte Anstrengungen zugunsten eines fairen Ausgleichs zwischen Israel und den Palästinensern erkennen. Das aber wäre bitter nötig, um in Nahost wenigstens Offenheit für amerikanische Zukunftsvisionen zu schaffen.

Mein Verdacht war schon immer, daß die Politik-Redaktionen deutscher Medien mit sinn-identischen Versatzstücken arbeiten, die sie durch Tastenklick in die ewig gleichen anti-amerikanischen Kommentare einfügen.

Übrigens: hier ist die Rede von Bush im Original.

Deutsch-amerikanische Kooperation trotz Anti-Amerikanismus der deutschen Medien / German-American Cooperation Despite the German Media's Anti-Americanism

(English translation at end of post)

Die deutschen Medien - und auch die deutsche Politik - zeichnen ein verzerrtes Bild des amerikanischen Einsatzes im Irak. Aber auf der Ebene der Menschlichkeit gibt es positive Beispiele der Solidarität zwischen Amerikanern und Deutschen.

Michael Fumento vom Hudson Institute berichtet in National Review Online empört - aber auch amüsiert - über einen anti-amerikanischen Artikel in der Financial Times Deutschland. Der Artikel in der FTD (kostenpflichtiger Aufruf) weiß aus dem Irak unter dem Titel "Saddam, wir lieben dich" nur von Haß auf die Amerikaner und Zuneigung zu Saddam zu berichten.

Fumento:

"In the city of Fallujah from which the story was reported, among 200,000 residents not one could be found who did not have utter contempt for Americans or didn't think of Saddam as a reincarnation of the prophet Mohammed with a bit of Santa Claus tossed in for good measure.

Given the chance, "I'd have killed every American who passes my way," says one Iraqi in pull-quote. Compared to the British, "The Americans are completely uncivilized," read the other pull quote. ...

Blame on the Americans even extends to winning the war. There's no mention of polls showing the great majority of Iraqis are glad Saddam has fled or hidden. The reporter picked Fallujah precisely because it was a Saddam power base, one of the few cities where he spent the money he stole from the rest of the nation. "Here," we're told, "almost everyone awaits Saddam's return." ...

Nobody needs three guesses as to why the French want to see our butts kicked. Germans, however, like us. But faced with Goebbels-like propaganda such as this, it's easy to see why they — and other Europeans similarly brainwashed — want nothing to do with our efforts to keep the Iraqi people free. Nor do they seem to realize that using Iraq as a terrorist magnet and killing ground makes it that much less likely they will attack targets in America, or more likely in Europe itself."

Nun, es gibt den Beweis, daß die Deutschen die Amerikaner mögen. Von der Web Site von USAFE (US Air Force Europe):

U.S. Air Force, Germany work together to ensure Iraqi children receive healthcare

Eighteen Iraqi children are now receiving long-awaited medical care from the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, thanks to the help of the U. S. Air Force.

The children, ages 6 months to 16 years old, arrived here Oct. 6 on a McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., C-141 Starlifter out of Baghdad International Airport.

Most of the children suffer from congenital, acquired or traumatic conditions; two of them have injuries resulting from the armed conflict. The Air Force provided transportation to the children and their attendants free of charge. ...

Brig. Gen. Erwin F. Lessel III, 86th Airlift Wing commander, greeted the Iraqi families.

“We know you’ll receive excellent medical care here in Germany, and once your treatment is complete, we can provide assistance with getting you back home to your families in Iraq,” said Lessel.

For many years now, the United States has been highly committed to humanitarian assistance throughout the world, said Lessel.

“We are grateful that we have the opportunity to work closely with the Germans to provide assistance … to the children of Iraq,” he said."

Hat jemand einen Hinweis auf diese deutsch-amerikanische Kooperation in deutschen Medien gefunden?

Der Tod der Saddam-Söhne: was haben die Amis da wieder falsch gemacht?

Fr Jul 25, 12:51:02 PM
Die vielleicht sympathischste Meldung zum Tod der Saddam-Söhne Uday und Qusay erschien in der Überschrift der englischen SUN: Brothers were killed in loo (Brüder im Kloo getötet). Man kann sich schwerlich eine gerechtere Strafe für die beiden Massenmörder vorstellen, als ein Ende "in a filthy loo".
Und natürlich beginnt in deutschen Medien schon wieder die Suche nach den schuldigen ... Amerikanern. Die "Tagesthemen" der ARD gruben Freimut Duve aus, einen notorisch erfolglosen ehemaligen SPD-MdB, der nun sein Gnadenbrot als "Medienbeauftragter" der OSZE verzehrt. Duve vermochte es, sich in die Gehirne der Iraker zu versetzen. Was fand er dort? Überraschung: Kritik AN DEN AMERIKANERN! Duve: "Vor Gericht stellen und ein Gerichtsverfahren machen, bedeutet viel mehr für die irakische Bevölkerung, die lange unter der Diktatur gelebt hat, als dieser Umgang mit Bildern". Man kann sich richtig vorstellen, wie die irakische Bevölkerung geduldig abwartet, bis Uday und Quesay sich über Jahre durch alle Instanzen einer noch überhaupt nicht existierenden demokratischen irakischen Justiz geklagt hätten. Dabei würde dies den Irakern so viel bedeuten... Übrigens regt sich Freimut Duve auch über andere Themen auf, z.B. über Berlusconi, über zu wenige "kritische Stimmen" gegen die US-Regierung nach dem 11.9.2001, über das schlechte Vorbild der USA, das den Russen die Misshandlung der Tschetschenen erlaubt, usw...usw...

AP findet nach einer Meldung der Financial Times Deutschland mit dem Landauer "Politologen und Medienwissenschaftler" Ulrich Sarcinelli einen geschichtlich dramatisch kenntnisreichen - ja, was wohl? - US-KRITIKER. Er erkennt "in dem demonstrativen Zurschaustellen der getöteten Feinde Merkmale eines primitives Rituals, das einem überholt geglaubtem Menschheitsstadium entspreche". Dahinter, so Sarchinelli, "steht offensichtlich eine dramatische innenpolitische Glaubwürdigkeitskrise der Kriegsparteien USA und Großbritannien". Aber hoppla, wer hätte das gedacht - die Tötung zweier Sadisten und Menschenschänder als Indikator innenpolitischer Krisenlagen bei den Angelsachsen!

Die Financial Times Deutschland veröffentlicht - for good measure - gleich eine ganze Seite mit kritischen Pressestimmen. Wem wohl gegenüber kritisch? DEN AMERIKANERN! Im Zitatendschungel der FTD ein Juwel des Welt-Blattes Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung: "Zu sehr riecht es nach Inszenierung. Die missratene Brut des Saddam Hussein wird genau in jenen Tagen zur Strecke gebracht, in denen Bush und sein britischer Waffenbruder Tony Blair wegen ihrer unseriösen Informationspolitik unter Druck stehen. Was für ein Zufall. Und dann all die Ungereimtheiten in dieser Geschichte: Wenn die Kommandos der Heeres-Spezialkräfte zugreifen, dann ist der Spuk normalerweise in Sekundenschnelle vorbei. Schwer vorstellbar, dass solche Profis mehrere Stunden gebraucht haben sollen, den fetten Kusai, den verkrüppelten Udai und zwei Begleiter niederzuringen." Tja, die Spezialkräfte der NOZ hatten sicher in "Sekundenschnelle" ihren tendenziösen, anti-amerikanischen Kommentar geschrieben. Die NOZ veröffentlicht dazu noch eine dpa-Meldung, die den Medienwissenschaftler Siegfried Weischenberg zu Wort kommen läßt. Weischenberg kritisiert...wen wohl? Richtig: DIE AMERIKANER! Weischenberg: "Auch Verbrecher haben eine Menschenwürde".

Es geht doch nichts über deutsche Gutmenschen und ihre anti-amerikanischen Reflexe - und über deutsche Medien, die ihnen ein Forum verschaffen. Wir aber wollen nun die Verbrecher mit Menschenwürde in unser Gebet einschließen (und Josef Stalin und Adolf Hitler und Idi Amin und Pol Pot und ...)