Davids Medienkritik

ARD's Panorama: Desperate U.S. Army Enlists Criminals

Just another example of the unbiased, high quality reporting about the Iraq War and the US military from ARD's Panorama, a highly influential investigative journalism program on a major German public television station that reaches an audience of millions. (VIDEO/TRANSLATION BELOW - the translation reflects the German narration):

Convicts to the Front – The last gasp of the Americans in Iraq

Anchorwoman: Anja Reschke:

"He wants to go to Iraq. Of all places Iraq. Just a report from this afternoon: A rocket attack in Baghdad killed 46 people and injured 113. No one will be shaken by these reports anymore, somehow one has given up on Iraq deep down. The American soldiers appear to be fighting for a lost cause. The US Army has serious problems recruiting new men. In the meantime it is even sending convicts to war. And the results of that are documented by John Goetz, Christiane Justus and Volker Steinhoff.”

(Video start) Steven Green, until recently a soldier in Iraq. According to the record, a murderer and rapist. A crime that could have been foreseen. Spring 2006, Green is assigned to a road block in Mahmudijah, Iraq. A suicide mission. Nearly daily attacks, every week a comrade dies. Then unending boredom. Cynicism quickly spreads. Perverse plans are hatched. On March 12, Green and four comrades begin the day with a couple golf balls and a first whiskey. What happens then sounds unimaginable, but is proven by recorded testimony from witnesses in the investigation that have been made available to journalists.

Sarah Childress, Newsweek: “They drank Iraqi whiskey mixed with an energy drink. At some point during the day Green said that he would really like to kill a couple Iraqis.”

Green and the others went in this house. They already knew the Iraqi family here: They had already set their eyes on one of the daughters.

Sarah Childress, Newsweek: “Steven Green forced the mother, father and the five year-old daughter into the bedroom. The other soldiers then heard shots from outside. Green came out and said: ‘I just killed them, all are dead!”

As that was happening, his comrades began to molest the second daughter, who was still alive. Then Green raped the 14 year old girl.

Sarah Childress, Newsweek: “Steven Green also shot her. One of his comrades even molested her after that, even though she was already dead. At the end Green dumped kerosene on the body and burned it.”

Shortly thereafter they had a barbeque: Chicken wings – fried chicken. The five soldiers clearly had no fear of punishment. Iraqi neighbors reported Green’s deed to the US Army – nothing happened. In the following weeks, Iraqi terrorists begin vigilante justice and murder two members of Green’s unit. Now a soldier is coming clean – two months after the deed. Only now are Green and the others being tried. A deed that was foreseeable in the eyes of experts.

Marc Garlasco, Human Rights Watch: “When you put a bunch of 18 year old boys with weapons into this situation where they are attacked nearly daily, where every Iraqi hates them, and when you also know that about 15 percent of them have a criminal past – then that means that you are almost intentionally asking for such deeds to happen.”

Already as a student, Green was known for random bouts of violence.

Sarah Childress, Newsweek: “He was very angry, often beat up his classmates just because they had on a shirt that he didn’t like or because they used a white lighter that he couldn’t stand. Any excuse was good enough for him to act on his anger.

Green dropped out of school, shortly thereafter he was locked-up for the first time. Actually, he shouldn’t have even been able to sign up with the US military as a convict. But the Army is running short on troops in Iraq, now criminals are also allowed to take up a rifle.

Paul K. Van Riper, retired US Lieutenant General: “Whenever you lower standards, whether moral or physical, you provoke these problems.”

William E. Odom, retired US General: “Clearly: The pressure to recruit new soldiers is high and the standards are dropping. And so many people enter the Army who it would be better not to allow in.”

For example Green. Barely in Iraq, he openly declared: ‘To kill a person is like crushing an ant.’ A military reporter meets him in this time.

Andrew Tilghman, military reporter: “When I met Steven Green, he spoke very openly of killing. He had come here to kill people, he had done it before, and it was nothing special to him. I found that quite normal at the time in Iraq based on the situation, because the soldiers all spoke that way.”

Green and his people live under miserable conditions. Often they could not shower for four weeks. And: They are stationed in the most dangerous part of Iraq.

Andrew Tilghman, military reporter: “He told of how he had once shot a driver of an automobile because he wouldn’t stop: ‘Not worth mentioning,’ he said, it’s like going out for pizza.

Marc Garlasco, Human Rights Watch: “The US military has come to a breaking point. At the moment the soldiers are two, three or even four years in Iraq with no vacation home. They are completely burned out, a difficult situation. Of course they are responsible for their own mistakes, but you also have to look at the decisions of the politicians: They simply did not have enough soldiers to get the situation under control, and they therefore refrain from training and breaks.”

Burned out troops, convict recruits, horrific massacres – the cycle of violence continues.

Paul K. Van Riper, retired US Lieutenant General: “We have here what one would call a fiasco, or perhaps better the beginning of a disaster in Iraq. But until now no one has had to take responsibility.”

William E. Odom, retired US General: “The war is going badly. It is getting worse every week. And the longer we stay in Iraq, the more catastrophic it will get. There is only one solution to avoid a massive defeat: Retreat, run away as fast as you can.”

Now the last contingent is fighting. Green is a killer. Four others went along.

Report: T. Berndt, J. Goetz, C. Justus, V. Steinhoff

This is how members of the United States military are presented to the German public in the German media: As criminals, murderers and sadistic torturers. The most extreme, vile, perverted image of the US military is presented to Germans and the US military is portrayed as so desperate and broken that it has come to rely on convicts and Soviet-style Shtrafbat personnel. The fact that the vast majority of those serving in the American military are decent and honorable people has been completely lost in a media environment that resembles a propaganda mill more than a provider of objective truth. It is entirely fair to label this sort of report propaganda because alternative viewpoints on Iraq and the US military are conspicuously absent as are positive images of the vast majority of US soldiers.

And this is a critical point: Two of the reporters responsible for this report are Volker Steinhoff and John Goetz. Steinhoff and Goetz also teamed up for this horrific piece of slanderous propaganda aimed at the US military on which we reported last year. The music and format are remarkably similar. It seems that both Steinhoff and Goetz are certified experts when it comes to producing one-sided, anti-American hate propaganda. These two "journalists" have done more to poison German-American relations than most people could ever hope to. It is high time that America’s representatives in Germany made a formal stink with the German government about Mr. Steinhoff and Mr. Goetz and their “work.” Panorama is, after all, aired on and sponsored by ARD, a major state-run public television station that reaches an audience of millions. If Germany’s government is going to sponsor and air this kind of "journalism," then the US Embassy ought to at least stand up and formally protest.

Note: Panorama's editors can be reached at: panorama@ndr.de.

Here is how Panorama summarized the report on it's web site:

Ex-convicts in front line duty - The Americans’ last contingent in Iraq

Iraq seldom shows up on front pages any more; the world has turned away. But Iraq hasn't quieted down. Every day there are new terror victims. But there are also a growing number of gruesome assaults by American Soldiers on the population. Meanwhile a disastrous dynamic has set in: The US army is short on personnel. So they’re arming ex-convicts too. Like soldier Steven Green. On March 12 he became a rapist and four count murderer according to court records. Green and his unit raped a 14 year old after which they murdered the girl and her family. After that they ate chicken wings and played cards. With the end of hope for still winning the war, ethical standards are obviously vanishing too. The army is running out of soldiers in Iraq . Now criminals can also be armed. (Translation by Richard Bartholomew)

And no, the Panorama report is not from the office of Joseph Goebbels, though he made similar observations in 1943: "A report on interrogations of American prisoners is really gruesome. These American boys are human material that can in no way stand in comparison with our people. One has the impression of dealing with a herd of savages."

The Panorama report is anti-Americanism courtesy German public tv in 2006. Any resemblance with Germany's past is entirely coincidental.

Update: Commenter Helian has his say.

Endnote: Again, our translation reflects the German narration offered by Panorama. The Panorama narration at points clearly does not accurately reflect what the individuals interviewed actually said. For example, Marc Garlasco states that, in his opinion, the troops have not received adequate training and time off. Panorama omits the word "adequate," dramatically changing the meaning of the translated sentence. (Translation by Ray D and Richard Bartholomew., article by David and Ray) Note on our translation: Richard translates "Vorbestrafter" as "ex-convict" in the sense that the individual is no longer physically incarcerated while Ray interprets the word as "convict" in the sense that the individual had been previously convicted of a felony.

Hot & Cold Media Spin

The German media (for example: 1, 2, 3) have dutifully reported on the latest UN based global warming hype with the usual alarmist overtones.

Since the U.S. media's reporting is not much different I think U.S. Senator Inhofe's speech applies to the German media as well:

“Hot & Cold Media Spin: A Challenge To Journalists Who Cover Global Warming” 

I am going to speak today about the most media-hyped environmental issue of all time, global warming. I have spoken more about global warming than any other politician in Washington today. My speech will be a bit different from the previous seven floor speeches, as I focus not only on the science, but on the media’s coverage of climate change.

Global Warming -- just that term evokes many members in this chamber, the media, Hollywood elites and our pop culture to nod their heads and fret about an impending climate disaster. As the senator who has spent more time speaking about the facts regarding global warming, I want to address some of the recent media coverage of global warming and Hollywood’s involvement in the issue. And of course I will also discuss former Vice President Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Since 1895, the media has alternated between global cooling and warming scares during four separate and sometimes overlapping time periods. From 1895 until the 1930’s the media peddled a coming ice age.

From the late 1920’s until the 1960’s they warned of global warming. From the 1950’s until the 1970’s they warned us again of a coming ice age. This makes modern global warming the fourth estate’s fourth attempt to promote opposing climate change fears during the last 100 years.

Recently, advocates of alarmism have grown increasingly desperate to try to convince

Iran’s Terror-cum-Intelligence Networks Thrown across Three Continents

(By Paul13)

DEBKAfile

Wenn sich der Block der sogenannten Blockfreien trifft, ist das meistens ein wahres Fest der antiwestlichen Propaganda. Doch bleibt es offenbar nicht immer nur bei Worten:

While the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement nations were making speeches at the 14th conference of their movement in Havana in mid-September, three groups of intelligence experts were off in a well-guarded corner next door to talk about matters far from the conference’s main theme of how to develop backward economies and societies.

Iranian, Cuban and Venezuelan teams were putting their heads together on ways of translating their leaders' hostile rhetoric and slogans into effective war action against the United States.

Achmadinedschad, Castro und Chavez - was für ein Dreamteam! Gegen diese Ansammlung geballten

Do the German Media Chase the Wrong Guys?

The Al-Masri case about the alleged abduction of a German-Lebanse is a never-ending cause for the German media to pound the U.S. government and the CIA in particular for unlawful behavior.

Looks like the German media chase the wrong guys:

(A report in the Financial Times Deutschland) gives reason to wonder whether it is not rather Al-Masri that Germany should be arresting. Citing an unpublished memorandum of Germany's Federal Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BKA), it notes, among other things, that Masri had been kept under surveillance by the German police and at least since October 2003 was considered to be a "partisan of military jihad." Note that October 2003 was some three months before Masri's alleged "abduction" by the CIA in Macedonia.

Read the whole story at John Rosenthal's Transatlantic Intelligencer.

Jeffrey Gedmin: Islamism - What Drives Terrorists?

Proudly presenting the original English version of Jeffrey Gedmin's article in WELT "Islamismus - Was treibt Terroristen an?". Unfortunately, this posting was delayed because of a business trip that kept me from regular posting (as you have surely noticed...).

Islamism - What drives Terrorists?

Column in “Die Welt”,  30.08.2006
By Jeffrey Gedmin
Mohammed Siddique Kahn was happily married, the son of a foundry worker, who had immigrated to the United Kingdom from Pakistan. Kahn was born in Leeds, went to university, and spent most of his professional life helping children. At 8:50 on July 7, 2005 Kahn exploded himself and other passengers on the Circle Line train in London. It makes you wonder about that well-dressed 21-year-old Lebanese student in Kiel arrested in connection with a plot to blow up two trains in Germany this summer.

What motivates these Islamic terrorists? Iraq? In Canada earlier this summer authorities uncovered a plot by home-grown terrorists to attack the parliament and behead the prime minister. Canada was against the Iraq war. Is it George W. Bush? Islamic terrorists planned Sept 11th while Bill Clinton was in office. Even if Abraham Lincoln were in the White House, we’d still have Islamic terrorism says Max Hastings in the left-wing British Guardian. Is it all about America? Islamic terrorists murdered Greek and German tourists in Egypt in the mid.1990s. They kill Muslims in Indonesia today. Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country and was also against the Iraq war.

Some keep repeating the nonsense that this is driven by poverty. But then the terrorists are often well-to-do. Africa is far poorer and produces little terrorism in contrast. Others repeat the nonsense that this is about Israel denying the Palestinians their state. But

Not Really a Surprise...

Guess who's the no. 1 choice for emigrating Germans?

Our reader Jefferson forwarded this mail from his friend G. to us:

From: G.
Subject: Query: German emigration and "Ostalgie"
Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2006

An article in the August 2006 issue of _The Atlantic Times_ on page 4
may be worth a special note.  It lists the fifteen main countries to
which Germans emigrated in 2005. The United States leads the list
with 12,976 and China ends it with 1,696. The latter is the only one
among these fifteen ruled by a regime bearing any resemblance to that
of the former East German state. Cuba, Vietnam, and North Korea are
nowhere to be found on this list.

Does this tell us something about the prevalence and significance of
what is often called "Ostalgie"? Does it suggest that the nostalgic,
romanticized vision some harbor about the GDR is a sign of

Vorsicht, Falle!

(By Paul13)

Telepolis

Die von der US-Regierung gerne benutzten Aussagen von Informanten aus den Reihen der Exil-Iraker, vor allem vom Iraqi National Congress (INC), waren meist falsch und auf politische Bedürfnisse zugeschnitten. Mit ihnen wurde die zweite Lüge gezimmert, die angebliche Existenz von Massenvernichtungswaffen oder zumindest von laufenden Programmen zu deren Herstellung. Damit ist nun gewissermaßen amtlich, dass die Bush-Regierung den 11.9. für den Krieg gegen den Irak instrumentalisiert und dazu "Beweise" fabriziert hat oder, will man unrealistisch gutgläubig sein, zu nachlässig mit der Verifizierung der Informationen gewesen ist.

Auch mehr als 3 Jahre nach dem Irakkrieg ist Heise noch kein bißchen weise. Denn nur wenige Monate bevor die ersten Bomben fielen gab der US-Präsident folgende Erklärung ab, die Telepolis-Autor Florian Rötzer offenbar entgangen sein muß:

Let me be clear on what the U.S. objectives are: The United States wants Iraq to rejoin the family of nations as a freedom-loving and law-abiding member. This is in our interest and that of our allies within the region.

The United States favors an Iraq that offers its people freedom at home. I categorically reject arguments that this is unattainable due to Iraq's history or its ethnic or sectarian

WELT: A Not So Hidden Message

Check today's top story at WELT online:

Headline and photo of the story refer to a confession of the Hungarian President to have lied to the Hungarian public. The confession was unintentionally recorded during a secret session of his party. The unintentional recording was not mentioned in the summary shown above, though.

The second but last sentence of the WELT article reads:

> Head of government declares: "We have always lied in the last years."

Last sentence:

> George W. Bush, King of microphone glitches.

The WELT online presentation connects optically the confession of numerous lies by a head of governement to George W. Bush's mic glitches.

A not so hidden message...

Jeffrey Gedmin: If you´re not tough enough, it won't work!

Proudly presenting the original English version of Berlin Aspen Institute's Jefffrey Gedmin's article in WELT (Ohne Härte geht es nicht):

If you´re not tough enough, it won't work!
Column in "Die Welt", 06.09.2006 By Jeffrey Gedmin

What are the reasons why President Assad sends terrorists into Iraq? First, he wants to get rod of Syria's Islamic terrorists. Second, they might do some good and kill some Americans. Third, he uses them to show the U.S. that the Americans need Syria if they want to solve Iraq. So some Syrians say.
A friend of mine traveling in Syria recently attended a public trial of a young terrorists. Such trials are apparently open to Western observers, as the regime wants to show that it is cracking down on terrorism. In the middle of the trial, the poor terrorist expressed his confusion and dismay, "How can you try me now", he blurted out, "after it was you who had trained me to do what I do." What a country.

I do not think you need to be a great Arabist or Syrian expert to figure out

A Personal Message to Readers from Ray

Dear Medienkritik Readers and Friends,

Three years ago, on September 18, 2003, I joined Davids Medienkritik as a translator and began a truly special journey that has literally transformed my life. Our site grew from virtual anonymity to become a blog recognized as the best in its field worldwide. To date we've registered over 2.6 million individual visits and over 4.5 million page views. Most importantly, our site has been at the center of a vitally important discussion on how German media impact perceptions of everything from transatlantic relations to domestic political issues. We have documented flagrant bias and anti-Americanism and opened many eyes to the role that it has played in exacerbating and deepening the transatlantic divide over the past several years.

I am very proud of what we have achieved and I am grateful for the opportunity to share and exchange so many of my ideas and observations with you. It has been an honor to speak my mind and to have received such an amazing level of feedback and respect from this incredible audience. Above all, I want to thank David for his unwavering support and friendship. Together we have transformed a small yet important corner of the media landscape. I can never thank you enough for being there for me.

Stepping back...but not out

As a full-time graduate student with a family it has not always been easy to juggle all of life's responsibilities. This academic year marks my last as a graduate student and I have already started the process of looking for work (email me with suggestions/openings). Because I am currently so overloaded with other responsibilities, I have no choice but to reduce my blogging, at least for the time being. That does not mean that I am quitting or stepping out, it just means that readers will no longer be able to expect regular postings from me. I will likely post every now and then (time permitting) and follow the site in the comments section and offer support where possible, but I cannot guarantee a steady, dedicated flow of work as in the past.

The bottom line is this: As I step back a bit, I want to encourage those of you who find this discussion and the work of this blog important to step up. That can mean starting a blog or it can mean becoming more active in discussing transatlantic and media issues in other forums. One outstanding way you can help out is to submit articles to our website. For more on that, click here. We are looking for talented authors (like Paul) to join us in our work. Another way you can help is to support this site financially by making a donation or purchasing a t-shirt. 

Whatever happens in the future, this site will serve as a permanent online resource on bias and anti-Americanism in German media to which I have contributed and of which I am very proud. If you haven't already done so, I strongly recommend looking through our archives (located on the sidebar.) Once again, I will be cutting back on blogging, but that does not mean that I am going away or will never come back. I will continue to accompany David and this site on its worthy mission as best I can. This site will go forward...hopefully with your ongoing input and continued support. Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,

Ray - medienkritik2@hotmail.com

PS - I am also very proud of our work - along with that of many other great German-language bloggers - in inspiring a growing blogger movement in Germany that is gaining increasing notice and respect in mainstream German media. This article is further evidence of that. As the article points out, bloggers serve a vital democratic function in keeping media honest and accountable.

PPS - I also want to give a very special "thank you" to all those who have written me today and in the past three years with words of encouragement and support as well as donations. You mean the world to me and this work has been for you.

Politiker-Schelte: Blair bezichtigt europäische Kollegen des Anti-Amerikanismus

(By Paul13)

SPIEGEL online

Großbritanniens Regierungschef Blair teilt kräftig aus. In einem umfassenden Dokument wirft er europäischen Politikern extremen Anti-Amerikanismus vor. Die Haltung einiger Kollegen bezeichnete er gar als "Wahnsinn".

Da wird einem Angst und Bange. Nicht daß Blair sowas sagt (da hat er schließlich völlig recht), sondern daß die Briten einen brillianten Kopf wie ihn, der Wahrheiten wie diese nicht nur erkennt, sondern sie auch auszusprechen wagt, scheinbar wirklich loswerden wollen. Statt sich fünfmal am Tag gen London auf den Boden zu werfen und ihn anzuflehen, daß er sich das mit dem Rücktritt doch bitte noch einmal überlegen soll, sind die Wähler seiner offenkundig aus purer Langeweile überdrüssig, und die eigene Partei demontiert ihn in ihrem Selbstzerstörungstrieb ohne Not selbst.

Dies ist umso tragischer, wenn man einen Titanen wie Blair, der nicht nur das Erbe der konservativen Revolution der 70er-Jahre - sozusagen als "Maggie Thatcher mit menschlichem Antlitz" - klug verwaltet hat, statt es in üblicher sozialistischer Tradition einfach zu verschleudern, sondern der auch den weitsichtigen Realismus eines Winston Churchill mit der humanistischen Vision eines Vaclav Havel verbindet, neben die politischen Zwerge von Chirac über Kaczynski, Merkel und Prodi bis hin zu Zapatero stellt, die die Regierungssitze des restlichen Europa sonst so bevölkern.

Bleibt nur zu hoffen, daß er Gnade vor Recht ergehen läßt und am Ende doch wieder antritt, statt grundlos den Stab an ein Leichtgewicht wie Gordon Brown weiterzureichen, nur damit der ihn dann fallen läßt. Blair ist ja noch relativ jung und hätte, wenn man den alten Adenauer als Maßstab nimmt, durchaus noch die eine oder andere Amtszeit vor sich. Also eher "four more terms" statt "four more years". Klingt unrealistisch? Mag sein. Aber man wird ja noch mal träumen dürfen... Und bis dahin trösten wir uns eben mit seiner legendären Rede vor dem US-Kongreß.

Christoph Luetgert: Bush and Bin Laden Enemies of the Free World

(By Ray D.)

In case you missed it, here is another of the German media's Schroeder-lapdogs blaming Osama bin Laden and George W. Bush in the same commentary on the ARD-Tagesthemen (Germany's main state-sponsored evening news program) for terror and insecurity in the world. This commentary was given to mark the fifth anniversary of 9/11. If anyone honestly believed that the anti-American stupidity in the German media had abated, here is more proof that it hasn't!

Here a translation submitted by one of our readers, edited by us. If you live in Germany, this is how your German public broadcasting tax money is being put to good use!:

Anchorwoman: Christoph Lütgert of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk, on the lessons and impacts of the 9/11 attacks.

Christoph Lütgert: Some may believe it an outrage to mention the names Osama bin Laden and George W Bush in the same breath, but I believe both have made our world much less safe. With his fight against terror, Bush was a willing marionette of out-of control neo-conservatives in the USA, and at the same time a help in fulfilling the objectives of the terror godfather bin Laden. Bush is primarily responsible for making the geopolitical consequences of September 11, 2001 worse than the catastrophe itself.

The war against Iraq, itself is a crime against international law, with no end in sight for the chaos, bloodshed and civil war. The recent Lebanon war would not have been thinkable without the Bush inspired radicalization of the Islamic world, likewise the threatening nuclear behavior of the terrible Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

As time increasingly passes, the accomplishments of the previous Red-Green (Schroeder-Fischer) administration, which distanced itself from this disastrous and unspeakable President, as the majority of Americans now do, are becoming increasingly evident. The current Union (CDU/CSU) administration under Angela Merkel should not be spared the reminder that it took her far longer. Perhaps, looking at the positive, it is all the more significant that we now see Chancellor Merkel and other prominent members of her administration clearly denouncing the abhorrent elements of Bush’s fight against terror, the human rights violations of Guantanamo Bay and CIA prisons.

It will take the free world a long time to repair the damage done by Osama bin Laden and George W. Bush, if that can be accomplished at all. And it (the free world) will be repeatedly challenged in its fight against terror not to give up freedoms that it in fact wants to defend.    

Endnote: If you wish to contact Tagesschau on this commentary, they can be reached at: redaktion@tagesschau.de

Also, Tibor pointed out the Luetgert commentary and a response to it in Handelsblatt. At least someone is responding. (Hattips Tibor and Marko. Thanks also to Marko for hi-tech support.)

UPDATE: We now have one of the most egregious examples of anti-American propaganda at ARD on video HERE. Another example HERE as well.

UPDATE #2: This is not the first time we have dealt with Mr. Luetgert. We caught him lying to the German people last year as well.

Germany's "Journalist" Magazine: "In the Valley of the Ignorant"

The article below (translated by Ray D.) was printed this month in "journalist," a publication for German media professionals founded in 1951. This particular piece (click here, here and here to view the German original) serves as a clear reminder of the flimsy, half-baked, ideologically-driven version of reality that many in German media have constructed of the United States. The title is: "Im Tal der Ahnungslosen" or "In the Valley of the Ignorant." During the Cold War, the phrase was used to signify that part of East Germany which could not receive western programming and was subject only to state propaganda. In this case, the phrase is used to describe the US media. The irony is that the journalists who believe the content of this report (and they are not few nor confined to Germany) are themselves the most ignorant of all, yet believe themselves to be supremely informed.

Here the translation:

"In the Valley of the Ignorant

What is wrong with the American media? The defenders of democracy have mutated into submissive government lackeys. He who seeks information critical of the government must turn to alternative media.

By Michael Kleff

Political journalism in the United States is deteriorating. At least that is what Helen Thomas, the Grande Dame of the American press corps in the White House, believes. In her new book, "Watchdogs of Democracy?" she characterizes the journalists in Washington as "submissive marionettes," who have given up their principles.
    In the meantime, most US media have parted with the "Hurrah-Patriotism" with which they accompanied the fight against terror and the war in Iraq proclaimed by President George W. Bush. The "New York Times" even apologized for relying too heavily on government sources in its reporting. 
    But for two-thirds of Americans, neither the "New York Times" nor the "Washington Post" are important sources of information. For them only television counts. And when it comes to television, US media critic Mark Hertsgaard states: "Not a single broadcaster apologized for misleading the public before and during the Iraq war." Despite knowing better, the conservative TV broadcaster Fox News spreads the news that Saddam Hussein was involved in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 to this day.

(Photo caption) Wants to conduct media (as an orchestra conductor would): US President George W. Bush

    The "New York Times" rehabilitated itself in December 2005 through the uncovering of secret eavesdropping practices of the Bush government. However, the newspaper admitted at the end of the article that it had already known of the illegal practices for a year, yet deferred publication under pressure from the government. The "Washington Post" already submitted to the same pressure from the White House in that it abstained from naming the countries in which secret CIA prisons had been set up in a November 2 cover story.

Government Conformists. There are other cases that call into question the media's credibility and the independence of the American mainstream media. A half a year ago, a supposed journalist with a false name and a questionable past was uncovered as a paid hack at George W. Bush's press conferences. Conservative commentators received money for Bush-friendly articles. In March 2005, it was discovered that the Bush government had provided reports disguised as news to private media. A practice that the Government Accountability Office criticized as hidden propaganda. A speaker for the US government responded that the television broadcasters were responsible for pointing out the sources of their reports.
    Media critics observe with concern how Washington is proceeding against journalists in order to discover leaks within the administration. As in the case of Valerie Plame, the undercover CIA agent whose name was made public to damage her husband Joseph Wilson. The former ambassador criticized the Bush administration in the "New York Times" and raised doubts about the grounds for war in Iraq.

Security Risk. At the end of June, the "New York Times" and "Los Angeles Times" revealed details on a secret government program. Washington established access to the world's largest financial data bank in Belgium (SWIFT) in order to spy on bank accounts in the entire world without permission from a court of law. The Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld triumvirate responded with the usual accusation that a media addicted to scoops was endangering national security. Some politicians demanded the papers be sued for betraying national secrets.
    The inability of the US government to get a grip on the debacle in Iraq, the illegal eavesdropping, the SWIFT bank account affair as well as the atomic conflict with Iran have contributed to the anti-Bush mood that has also reached the mainstream media. At the latest since the helpless reaction to the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, the number of government critical voices have multiplied. Many journalists no longer allow themselves to be misled by the finely oiled media apparatus, the "Spin Machine" of Bush and his team. CBS anchor John Roberts felt that in light of this development that the media had "regained its status as the voice of those who have no voice."
    However this assessment was not shared by watchdog groups such as Mediachannel.org or the New York based FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting.) In email memos, FAIR regularly points to false or incomplete new reporting. Readers, listeners and viewers who want news and information instead of wishy-washy infotainment are increasingly turning to alternative media or the internet.
    This silent protest has not passed the newspapers by unnoticed: For 20 years they have experienced a steady decrease in readership. "The Nation," the political weekly founded 140 years ago, has been able to double its subscriptions to more than 184,000. "What's bad for the country is good for "The Nation,"" goes the saying among American media experts.
    Oppositional media have been able to increase their audience on a wide front in the past years. Thomas Nehls, ARD radio correspondent in New York until the end of 2003, points to another problem: Alternative media are ignored by the market, barely get advertising - and are stuck with low circulations.

Blogger-Messages. The websites of government critical bloggers, who are sending their messages into the American "valley of the ignorant" (in the DDR a satirical characterization for the Dresden region because it could not receive western broadcasts) are indeed booming. At the beginning of June the US bloggers had their first national conference in Las Vegas. Daily Kos, which registers 600,000 readers a day - more than most American daily newspapers, sent out the invitation.
    Once again endangered are National Public Radio (NPB) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). For the second time in nine months the Bush government wants to cut the expenditures for public radio and television programs by 115 million dollars - that is almost a quarter of the entire budget. Victims could be the "Newshour with Jim Lehrer" or the political weekly magazine "Now," perhaps the last news programs that can be taken seriously in the American broadcasting system. In 2005, a cut could still be prevented with a signature campaign. Interest and civil rights groups such as Free Press and Move-on.org have once again announced their intention to resist.

(Photo caption) Poor Grade: Helen Thomas holds US journalists to be "submissive marionettes."

If NPB and PBS were to disappear, then conservative journalists, who daily reach an audience in the tens of millions, would dominate radio. These include heavyweights like Rush Limbaugh (daily 20 million listeners,) Bill O'Reilly (15 million,) Gordon Liddy (convicted because of involvement in Watergate break-in) and Oliver North (convicted main perpetrator in the Iran-Contra Affair under Ronald Reagan).
    For more than two years, Air America has offered itself as an alternative. The program can now be heard in 70 cities, in satellite radio and on the internet. Financed by a consortium of liberal business people and through income from advertising, they want to form a counter-weight to the secretiveness of the government, the power of media concerns and a one-sided right-wing press.

Three Plagues. For Bill Moyers they are the three great "plagues" currently visiting US journalism. Moyers, who until last year was a moderator at "Now," has not grown tired of pointing out the narrow correspondence between the condition of the media and the constitution of a society: "Democracy cannot live without an informed public. Not only journalism is at stake, but the democracy and freedom in America."

(Photo caption) Sees Democracy in Danger: Bill Moyers

    The Austrian philosopher Paul Watzlawick, now residing in California, described the US media landscape in his book "Operating Instructions for America": Upon your arrival in the States you have suddenly stepped into an information vacuum. The American has voluntarily and spontaneously achieved a degree of informational poverty and control of opinion that the populist-democratic government (aka the Communist GDR), with its concern for the sanctimonious thought of its petulant underlings, can only acknowledge with green envy."
    The book first appeared nearly 30 years ago.   
Michael Kleff works in New York primarily as a correspondent for (German) public radio."

There is so much wrong with this article that we don't even know where to begin at this point. We will therefore wait to see our readers' reaction before further comment. (Big hattip to S1G.)

Endnote: You can contact the editors of "journalist" magazine with your opinions and comments at: journalist@djv.de. Please keep your comments polite, civil and on topic.

Here is more information on Michael Kleff...UPDATE: Helian blasts Kleff, click here.

The Consequences of 9/11: Fighting Terrorism

Survivors show their determination in New York City, Sept. 14, 2001.
White House photo by Paul Morse / Source

The mood of the German media on the 5th anniversary of 9/11 is skeptical and pessimistic. Commentators focus on the mistakes made in the fight against terrorism rather than on the successes achieved.

The speech of President Bush given today in the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, presents an encouraging alternative to the prevailing cannot-do attitude in Germany:

Nine-Eleven lifted the veil on a threat that is far broader and more dangerous than we saw that morning -- an enemy that was not sated by the destruction inflicted that day, and is determined to strike again. To answer this threat and protect our people, we need more than retaliation; we need more than a reaction to the last attack; we need to do everything in our power to stop the next attack.

And so America has gone on the offense across the world. And here are some of the results. We've captured or killed many of the most significant al Qaeda members and associates. We've killed al Qaeda's most visible and aggressive leader to emerge after 9/11, the terrorist Zarqawi in Iraq. We've kept the terrorists from achieving their key goal, to overthrow governments across the broader Middle East and to seize control. Instead, the governments they targeted -- such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia -- have become some of our most valuable allies in the war on terror. These countries are joined by the largest coalition in the history of warfare -- more than 90 nations determined to find the terrorists, to dry up their funds, to stop their plots, and to bring them to justice.

This coalition includes two nations that used to sponsor terror, but now help us fight it -- the democratic nations of Afghanistan and Iraq. (Applause.) In Afghanistan, President Karzai's elected government is fighting our common enemies. In showing the courage he's showing, he's inspired millions across the region. In Iraq, Prime Minister Maliki's unity government is fighting al Qaeda and the enemies of Iraq's democracy. They're taking increasing responsibility for the security of their free country.

The fighting in Iraq has been difficult and it has been bloody, and some say that Iraq is a diversion from the war on terror. The terrorists disagree. Osama bin Laden has proclaimed that the "third world war is raging" in Iraq. Al Qaeda leaders have declared that Baghdad will be the capital of the new caliphate that they wish to establish across the broader Middle East. It's hard to believe that extremists would make large journeys across dangerous borders to endure heavy fighting, and to blow themselves up on the streets of Baghdad for a so-called "diversion." The terrorists know that the outcome in the war on terror will depend on the outcome in Iraq -- and so to protect our own citizens, the free world must succeed in Iraq. (Applause.)
(emphasis added)

Maybe the German Media was Right...

(By Ray D.)

We admit it...the President is trying to intimidate, bully, coerce and control the American media to suit his agenda...with noticeable success.

But why aren't more German media outlets enraged, indignant, angry and up-in-arms about this story...?