It’s The Small Details That Make The Difference.../ Es sind die Kleinigkeiten, die den Unterschied machen...

(Deutsche Übersetzung am Ende des Beitrags)

Tagesspiegel:

US Journalist Suspected of Spying for Iraq Arrested

Washington (dpa) – An American journalist has been arrested for spying for Iraq. US media sources report that Susan Lindauer purportedly received $10,000 from the Iraqi secret service. Lindauer worked for a time as the press speaker for a member of Congress. The authorities accuse her of conspiracy, spying and taking money from a terrorist regime.

Nothing is wrong with this report. There are just a few small details missing: Susan Lindauer worked for four Democratic members of Congress. And she was a peace activist who fought against the American occupation in Iraq. As she was being arrested she yelled: “I’m an antiwar activist and I’m innocent.”

Let’s imagine the lady had taken money from Kuwait, had worked for four republican members of Congress, had committed herself to supporting the American occupation and had screamed, “I am a neo-conservative and I’m innocent,” as she was being arrested. Would that also have been left out of the media’s reporting?

And by the way: The German media is already warming up to Landauer. An article in the “Maerkischen Zeitung” displays a clear fondness for the “war opponent”:

A former journalist and press speaker in the US Congress is suspected of having spied for Saddam Hussein. Even though the White House itself admits that the activities of the forty-seven year old were harmless, the war opponent is now learning what price rejecting the Iraq war can have: She is faced with twenty-five years in prison. …

The government admits that Lindauer “at no point in time presented a threat,” declared government speaker Scott McLellan, it has to do with an “unfortunate situation.” But alone because of pressure from the side of the government it is now unlikely that the prosecuting attorney will drop the charges against Susan Lindauer.

"...learning what price rejecting the Iraq war can have": you're against the Iraq war, you're faced with 25 years in prison. That's America - at least in the eyes of the German media.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Lindauer soon achieves cult status in the German media’s anti-Bush reporting, as Kwiatkowski and others before her did.

Stay tuned…

(Hat tip Eric Baker)

(Translation by Ray D.)

Deutsche Übersetzung

Es sind die Kleinigkeiten, die den Unterschied machen...

Tagesspiegel:

US-Journalistin unter Spionageverdacht für den Irak festgenommen

Washington (dpa) - Eine amerikanische Journalistin ist wegen Spionage für den Irak festgenommen worden. Susan Lindauer soll 10 000 Dollar vom irakischen Geheimdienst erhalten haben, berichteten US- Medien. Lindauer hatte zeitweise als Pressesprecherin für Kongressabgeordnete gearbeitet. Die Behörden werfen ihr Verschwörung, Spionage und Geldannahme von einem terroristischen Regime vor.

Nichts ist falsch an dieser Meldung. Es fehlen nur ein paar Kleinigkeiten: Susan Landauer war für vier demokratische Kongressabgeordnete tätig gewesen. Und sie war eine Friedensaktivistin, die sich für den Kampf gegen die amerikanische Besatzungsmacht im Irak einsetzte. Bei ihrer Festnahme rief sie: "Ich bin eine Anti-Kriegs-Aktivistin und ich bin unschuldig."

Nehmen wir an, die Dame hätte Geld von Kuweit genommen, wäre für vier republikanische Kongressabgeordnete tätig gewesen, hätte sich für die amerikanische Besatzungsmacht engagiert und hätte bei ihrer Festnahme gerufen: "Ich bin eine Neokonservative und ich bin unschuldig." Wäre das auch in der Berichterstattung weggelassen worden?

Im übrigen: in den deutschen Medien erwärmt man sich für Landauer schon. Ein Artikel in der "Märkischen Zeitung" läßt deutliche Sympathie für die "Kriegsgegnerin" erkennen:

Eine frühere Journalistin und Pressesprecherin im US-Kongress wird verdächtigt, im Auftrag Saddam Husseins spioniert zu haben. Obwohl selbst das Weiße Haus einräumt, dass die Aktivitäten der vierzigjährigen Susan Lindauer "harmlos" waren bekommt die Kriegsgegnerin nun zu spüren, welchen Preis die Ablehnung des Irak-Krieges haben kann: Ihr drohen bis zu fünfundzwanzig Jahre Haft. ...

Die Regierung räumt ein, dass Lindauer "zu keinem Zeitpunkt eine Gefahr darstellte". Regierungssprecher Scott McLellan erklärte, es handle sich um eine "unglückliche Situation." Doch allein wegen des Drucks seitens der Regierung gilt es als unwahrscheinlich, dass die Staatsanwaltschaft die Klage gegen Susan Lindauer fallen lassen wird.

"...welchen Preis die Ablehnung des Irak-Krieges haben kann": wenn man gegen den Irak-Krieg ist, drohen 25 Jahre Haft. So ist Amerika - jedenfalls in der Sicht der deutschen Medien.

Es würde mich nicht überraschen, wenn Lindauer in den deutschen Medien in der anti-Bush-Berichterstattung bald auch Kultstatus erreicht, wie zuvor Kwiatkowski und andere.

Warten wir's ab...

(Hat tip Eric Baker)

Comments

[N. Hale]

This report about Ms. Lindauer, shows again that the Peace movement isn't just a bunch of school children saying "NO TO WAR". They are far more organized than most can imagine.

As a former USAF member, I never wanted to go to war. However, when the U.S government would have said go, I was ready to go. For eight years of my life, I was ready to defend the U.S. and its allies. I was amazed during those eight years how much information the journalists acquired about the readiness of the military. I was also angered by this leak of sensitive information.

Someone in the government would always leak this infomation to the press, sometimes for money, at other times for their own little private causes such as "the peace movement". Having lost friends during operations, I found it incredible that the press knew what was happening before any certain operation was completed.

In my opinion, if she is found guilty, they should throw the proverbial book at Ms. Lindauer, lock her up and throw away the key. It is people like her who help the enemies of the Western world to infiltrate into countries, find safe havens to build their bombs and then to escape from those same countries.

Her case will be a very well publicized one. It will be played out in the media, because she is one of their own kind. She will have the best leftist liberal lawyer available, and she may go before the best leftist liberal judge that can be found. For in the U.S. court system, if a judge can be found to be hostile to the case, another judge can be requested. The same is true in the jury selection process, hostile jurors are not selected for the jury, for any person in the U.S is tried before a jury of his/her peers. Her lawyers can also request a change of venue, a change of the location of the trial if there is a belief that she can't get a fair trial where she is arraigned.

In the U.S., criminals often have more rights than their victims, in this case it is the entire population of the United States and her soldiers in Iraq. I hope that her actions haven't caused any deaths of our soldiers.

Patriotism is one of my families virtues and has been since 1776.

N. Hale

[Gabi]

Perhaps we should let people like maybe... post as silly as they want it. It shows their IQ. And what does this tell us about their opinion based on such IQ? :-)

It gives me a good feeling to come together here with reasonable people, who know facts, who are able to discuss, who have a high knowledge of history and politics.

And these other people? I don't care. We have millions of them. We are the minority. That is also the truth. But who rules the world? Who has the good professions and makes the world working?

Arrogant? No, just true.

[vasili]

"But who rules the world?"

the dumb ones, gabi. arrogant? no, just true.

[vasili]

btw, n. hale:

"patriotism is the virtue of the vicious." (oscar wilde)

;-)

[Gabi]

vasili: not everywhere perhaps in Germany. :-)

[vasili]

you don't really think that the government is ruling this (or any other "democratic") country, do you?

but maybe i should have written "the self-centered ones" or "the most reckless ones" instead of "the dumb ones".

(btw, leicht ot: wer stern und npd in einen topf wirft, muss sich wirklich nicht darüber aufregen, dass ein winkender bush auf einem stern-titel angeblich assoziationen zu hitler wecken soll.)

[Dennis]

Well gabi,
Oscar Wilde was not german. :)

Aber er war es:
"Drüben (in Amerika) ist nicht der Platz, Bescheidenheit und Zurückhaltung zu lernen"
Theodor Fontane

:)