54 Comments

1. Richard Nieporent:

No problem. They can just change the name of their award to the Duranty prize.

Apr 8, 2005 - 9:51 pm 2. David Thomson:

I have been surfing the Internet for more than a few minutes—and have found very little regarding this disturbing story. For instance, this is all Google.com currently has listed:

“News results for cbs cameraman iraq – View today’s top stories

Call for inquiry into journo deaths in Iraq – Sydney Morning Herald (subscription) – 3 hours agoCBS cameraman shot by US troops – Guardian – 7 hours agoUS forces shoot CBS cameraman in Iraq – ABC Online – 8 hours ago”

I might have somehow missed it, but I found nothing on the websites of either the New York Times or The Washington Post. This cynically leads me to suspect that CBS and the other MSM outlets are convinced that this cameraman is guilty of colluding with the terrorists. The crap is about to hit the fan.

Apr 8, 2005 - 11:49 pm 3. HA:

Roger,

I wonder now how the Pulitzer Committee would feel if it turned out they gave their prize to people who were inside the “insurgency” and effectively functioning as publicists for jihadist killers.

Why I am sure they would be shocked – Shocked! – to find that there are gamb …err… terrorists among their stringers.

Let’s face it. The media has been hiring terrorists for years in Israel. Now they are doing it in Iraq. The do it knowingly because they want us to lose. In the Marxist worldview of the media, the war in Iraq is an imperial war of aggression to control oil, and the terrorists are Michael Moore’s “minutemen” resisting the aggressor. The media is the willing propaganda arm of the insurgency.

Apr 9, 2005 - 4:29 am 4. David Thomson:

ìThe media is the willing propaganda arm of the insurgency.î

The MSM may not be consciously aware of their anti-Americanism. I really do believe that usually they are consciously sincere when declaring their loyalty to the United States and Western values. It is the subconscious that I worry about. These people have often attended the ìeliteî schools where ìAmerica is always in the wrongî mentality is second nature. The MSM elites consider themselves as primarily citizens of the world. America is supposedly a second rate culture and it is the Old Europeans who are cool, debonair, and enlightened. The MSM easily delude themselves—and this is why they are so dangerous. People who overtly lie to you are bad enough. Those, however, who first con themselves are even more able to shovel the bovine excrement toward your direction.

The US military has now detained the cameraman for well over 100 hours. We can probably take it for granted that CBS knows the evidence is substantial. Please note the relative silence of the MSM:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Reporter-Detained.html?

If they thought this individual was innocent, we wouldnít hear the end of it. The Bush administration would be charged with destroying the freedom of the press.

Apr 9, 2005 - 5:00 am 5. Oyster:

I like that last sentence from David Thompson’s link: “CBS News continues to investigate the situation, and when more information becomes available, we will report it.”

Right. It should read: “We need time to figure out how we’re going to spin this.”

In Google news there is a link to the UK’s “Guardian” story on it with a picture of Guiliana Sgrena directly to the left.

I hate Google more every day.

Apr 9, 2005 - 5:58 am 6. PeterUK:

The anti-war,anti-Republican stance of the MSM has left them nowhere to run to other than into the open arms of the enemy.They have got to the point that the Cambridge traitors reached in the 30s,they would rather betray their country than their principles.

There is a structural contradiction in liberal left ideology,the liberal belief that personal principles are paramount clash with the leftist creed which cannot possibly allow this.This dichotomy puts the liberal left into bed with totalitarians of every hue.

There is a third strand,Internationalism,which is based on the naive belief that we all have the same basic interests,ignoring powerful conflicting ideologies and religions which modify the way we go about pursuing those interests.

The childlike adherence to the concept that “War doesn’t work” leaves the liberal left open to manipulation by those who believe it does.

Having grown up in a world without hard men who will use any means to get what they want,the liberal left have evolved into a species of human Dodo,if it were not for the Redneck Right,they would go the same way.

Apr 9, 2005 - 6:00 am 7. Barry Dauphin:

“…the liberal left have evolved into a species of human Dodo…” –PeterUK

And there is a subclass of this species working for the NY Times—–MoDo

On a more serious note, I believe that PeterUK hits paydirt with the observation about the far left’s unblendable split personality regarding the worship of both personal principles and their antitheses

Apr 9, 2005 - 6:09 am 8. UML Guy:

“CBS News continues to investigate the situation, and when more information becomes available, we will report it.”

Why does that remind me of Dan Rather insisting that if there were anything to the forged memo story, he wanted to be the one to break it?

The more things change…

Apr 9, 2005 - 6:21 am 9. AFV:

Great Post. Even better comments.

To answer David Thompson…there are more bloggers starting to pick up this story.

Here is what I want to know. What was CBS up to? Was this supposed to be an “Iraqi Tet?”

Air Force Voices

Apr 9, 2005 - 6:32 am 10. ben-atl:

I don’t think this will matter. I keep thinking we’ll reach some critical mass of MSM screwups, and real change will occur, but the more problems that are uncovered, the less the non-blogging public seems to care, and if they don’t care, the news outlets certainly aren’t going to care. Look at what happened to Dan Rather. There were basically no ramification from that affair, except te firing of some scapegoats. ABC will simply say they made a mistake, and will move on, undoubtably without a twinge of guilt.

Apr 9, 2005 - 7:42 am 11. Knucklehead:

Oyster,

I like that last sentence from David Thompson’s link: “CBS News continues to investigate the situation, and when more information becomes available, we will report it.”

Right. It should read: “We need time to figure out how we’re going to spin this.”

It was part of their generous effort to improve the economic condition of the occupied peoples. Community outreach.

What’s to investigate? CBS knows perfectly well what the situation is. They want cameras running from the terrorists side of the battles so they hire terrorists to hold the cameras. If the terrorists get shot up or killed while holding the camera, all the better since it provides another story to bash on the Evila, Vicious, Violent Occupiers with.

PeterUK,

There is a structural contradiction in liberal left ideology,the liberal belief that personal principles are paramount clash with the leftist creed which cannot possibly allow this.This dichotomy puts the liberal left into bed with totalitarians of every hue.

Oooh! Another piece of the perplexing puzzle as I try (why I still try is another puzzle, but…) to gain some sort of basic notion of “how did these people arrive at where they are?” Thank you, Sir.

Apr 9, 2005 - 7:43 am 12. Charlie (Colorado):

Fox News is now reporting this; they’re playing it straight, but they are definitely covering the whole notion that the guy might have been tied to the insurgents he was “covering”.

Apr 9, 2005 - 8:04 am 13. Pat Curley:

They’re called the P-U-Litzer prizes for a reason. Check out the commentary winner from the Plain Dealer–Connie Schultz. A weak imitation of Maureen Dowd if you can imagine that.

Apr 9, 2005 - 8:17 am 14. richard mcenroe:

“I wonder now how the Pulitzer Committee would feel if it turned out they gave their prize to people who were inside the “insurgency” and effectively functioning as publicists for jihadist killers.”

ó The Pultizer Committee today issued the following statement: “Cool.”

Apr 9, 2005 - 8:26 am 15. reel cobra:

My wife says that if we penalize baseball players like Barry Bonds, who obviously used drugs to enhance performance and break records, we should also take Pulitzers away from photographers who were working with the terrorists.

Apr 9, 2005 - 9:01 am 16. Captain Hate:

“Check out the commentary winner from the Plain Dealer–Connie Schultz. A weak imitation of Maureen Dowd if you can imagine that.”

I hate to waste valuable bandwidth on somebody as insignificant as Schultz, but this was an absolutely horrible choice. She is her own unique cult of victimology despite the fact that she’s married to a U.S. Congressman (Sherrod Brown, the one that was dressed down and humilated by Colin Powell when he tried to characterize Bush as a draft dodger) and is well compensated at the Pain Squealer. She never tires of boring her readers with stories of her poor father’s dented lunchpail that he gallantly toted to work toiling thanklessly at the local electric utility where he was never appreciated; the same utility that I told to shove it and left when I had my fill and refused to be considered a victim. Free choice, Connie: Love it or shove it.

To their credit, even the lefties that write for the horrid “alternative” press consider Schultz a joke.

Apr 9, 2005 - 9:16 am 17. John Moore ( Useful Fools ):

I am not one to defend the MSM, but I think there is another possible explanation:

The cameraman is an Iraqi paid to get video (and probably paid by the piece). Assume he has a friend/relative/acquaintance who is tied in to one of the terrorist groups. He has quite a monetary incentive to go along with his friend on attacks and then sell the video. He has no patriotic issue with the US – he’s Iraqi. He may rationalize that if he reported the attacks ahead of time, he would be cut out of the loop (and probably killed), so he may as well keep quiet, film the events, and sell the video.

This is a likely case, and far less sinister than a lot of the hypotheses here.

Of course, the “resistance” will have agents of all sorts – from members to people controlled via blackmail (tell us what’s going on or we kill your kids). This was common in Vietnam and is normal in any guerilla operation where the ethnicity of the two (or more) sides is the same.

Apr 9, 2005 - 9:19 am 18. flenser:

Knuck

Check out the latest NR, in a book review by Edward Feser called “Liberal Tribalism”, for more on Peters argument.

Apr 9, 2005 - 10:36 am 19. David Thomson:

“I wonder now how the Pulitzer Committee would feel if it turned out they gave their prize to people who were inside the “insurgency” and effectively functioning as publicists for jihadist killers.”

ìMy wife says that if we penalize baseball players like Barry Bonds, who obviously used drugs to enhance performance and break records, we should also take Pulitzers away from photographers who were working with the terrorists.î

We already know the answer: the Pulitzer committee may do nothing! In 1932 it awarded its top prize to New York Times writer Walter Duranty for his reporting on the Soviet Union. This article might be of interest:

http://www.nationalreview.com/stuttaford/stuttaford050703.asp

The evidence that Duranty lied on behalf of Joseph Stalin was later overwhelmingly proved. And yet, neither the NY Times nor the Pultizer officials have renounced him. Duranty, at this very moment, is still officially regarded as an honored recipient of this major journalistic achievement.

Apr 9, 2005 - 11:15 am 20. JJE:

This is getting pretty silly. First, the inability of some bloggers to understand how a telephoto lens works apparently means that the AP is also doing the insurgency’s bidding. And now a freelance photographer may or may not have ties to terrorists, and therefore the whole MSM is in league with them. C’mon guys, do Ryan G. Anderson’s activities mean the national guard is the “willing [espionage] arm of the insurgency”? This zeal to bash the MSM is starting to diminish the reputation of bloggers rather than the MSM. Step back from the edge, fellas.

Apr 9, 2005 - 4:28 pm 21. Soldier's Dad:

JJE,

“This is getting silly fast”

The parents of soldiers that have survived an IED attack, “silly” would not be the phrase they would use. For $50 a criminal in Iraq will plant an IED. The CBS Cameraman has pictures of 4 IED attacks. CBS’s latest statement is that the cameraman did “excellent work”.

There is no reason to use “local” reporters in Mosul(except that they are cheaper), the Stryker Brigades have/had embeds. Strykers seat 7, taking a reporter along is no big deal.

Apr 9, 2005 - 5:34 pm 22. David Thomson:

ìThis zeal to bash the MSM is starting to diminish the reputation of bloggers rather than the MSM. Step back from the edge, fellas.î

You speak of the MSM as if they were similar to a choirboy suspected for the first time in his life of shoplifting. Try imagining instead the repeat offender, with a list of convictions a mile long, being arrested once again for a crime. Such a person no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt. The MSM have a well-deserved reputation for being at least subconsciously anti-American. The Vietnam War, for instance, was lost due to their shenanigans. A betting man in Las Vegas would put their money on the probability that this cameraman is in cahoots with the terrorists. This is a very reasonable assumption. Lastly, the MSMís virtual silence speaks volumes. Do you really believe that they wouldnít hesitate to blast the Bush administration if the opportunity presented itself?

Apr 9, 2005 - 5:39 pm 23. lindenen:

flenser, do you have a link to that article? I didn’t see it when I went to look.

Apr 9, 2005 - 6:34 pm 24. Buddy Larsen:

It appears CBS is engaged in ‘vertical integration’, reaching down into the snuff-film part of the infotainment industry.

I mean, this qualifies, by any/every definition or point-of-view.

A human being is the base (raw) material, his filmed killing is the manufacturing process, marketing/sales is apparantly by custom order, wholesale distribution is via CBS’s laundered channels to retailers (CBS affiliates) who are sort of the storefronts, deriving end-users (the great broadcast network clientele, the “booboisie”).

So in a very real way, of the dollar I spend on a product manufactured by a company which advertises on CBS, some fraction of that dollar capitalizes a contract on the life of one of the American soldiers over there fighting for my way-of-life. This *way* more than totally sucks.

If CBS really can’t get film any other way than by incentivizing ambushes on its nation’s troops, WHY doesn’t CBS just SAY so, and then honorably DO WITHOUT that ‘angle’? You know, “ethics”-style?

Heck, this sh*t could be just a business, it really doesn’t even need war, or even politics. CBS might as well get into the kiddieporn and crack biz, too.

Culture of Death; an artifact: CBS.

Apr 9, 2005 - 6:48 pm 25. Ari Tai:

re: silly.

Right, I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw that none, zero, nada, of the prizes went to the photos of the oppressed celebrating their liberation nor to journalists who told the heart-rending stories of these tyrants’ cruelties. Even those who exposed the elites’ (UN) corruption were ignored.

fyi, I think it’s great that the MSM continues to push the limits – it’s clear they believe that there are no bounds. Be it awards or opinion masquerading as factual news or the “realism” of CSI, it’s all pornography. It’ll be decades before they are trusted again, and even longer before they and their ilk return to power (if ever).

Shades of the Copperheads.

Apr 9, 2005 - 6:51 pm 26. Buddy Larsen:

Copperheads indeed.

Apr 9, 2005 - 7:03 pm 27. flenser:

lindenen

Sorry, it’s not on their free web site. You need to either buy the dead tree version, or sign up for the digital version.

What, you are not a subscriber???

I’ll shamelessly excerpt a paragraph, and Roger can delete it if he thinks its inappropriate.

“Modern liberalism has a paradoxical tendency to promote both excessive individualism in the realm of private behavior and a stifling conformity of thought and action in the public sphere. This reflects its concern to harmonize its favored conceptions of liberty and equality. Liberals are, accordingly, criticized both for promoting too much freedom and for allowing too little. In particular, they are accused of attempting to impose, in the name of equal freedom for all ways of life in modern democratic societies, a radical egalitarianism that effectively allows no one to disapprove of anyone else?s way of life. But since almost any way of thinking and acting with any substantial content involves disagreement with some other ways of thinking and acting, this requires that the only point of view that can be allowed to flourish in a polity informed by the liberal-egalitarian ethos is the liberal-egalitarian ethos itself. Modern liberalism thus seems to its critics to be an incoherent mess, and to entail in practice the negation of liberty and equality as those terms are understood by everyone but liberals themselves.”

NR ain’t what it used to be, but it’s still pretty darn good.

Apr 9, 2005 - 7:10 pm 28. Buddy Larsen:

That’s the Worker’s Paradise, alright!

Apr 9, 2005 - 7:28 pm 29. richard mcenroe:

Buddy ó remember, it was CBS’ Mike Wallace who said that if he had been accompanying Nazi troops about to ambush an American unit in WWII, he would have considered it his duty as a journalist not to warn the GI’s…

Apr 9, 2005 - 8:47 pm 30. Buddy Larsen:

Ain’t no sunshine in that sick shop…no feedback loop, that ratings no longer matter at the News is sold as a professorial sacrifice when its actually a thundering declaration of fealty to party politics…pure feudalism, dukes and barons and duchesses, all with adoring primogenitured staffs…the whole edifice and several like it sitting atop a king-making hidden-persuader guild, absolutely free to acknowledge or disavow–depending on self-interest–any responsibility for results. Politicians mortally afraid of Guild ‘framing authority’, dozens of millions of voters blissfully unaware, toiling tools of Wizards and Guild Masters. Feh.

Apr 9, 2005 - 9:33 pm 31. chuck:

Buddy Larson,

Now say all that in southern

Apr 9, 2005 - 9:47 pm 32. Buddy Larsen:

yeh, that got murky alright. The topic, y’know.

Apr 9, 2005 - 9:54 pm 33. Terrye:

jje:

If it were not for the uncanny ability that many of these stringers have for knowing when an attack is going to happen before the fact I would not be so ready to judge. But maybe they are just psychic.

Besides this guy had press credentials, which gives him access and CBS knows this.

Apr 9, 2005 - 9:55 pm 34. truepeers:

jje, that photo was heavily analyzed at the time, and a telephoto lens was not used. The photographer was in close proximity to the staged execution and unfazed by the gunmen about. Clearly, the AP created a demand for such photos and is thus complicit in the murder that was evidently staged with political theatrical intent.

The esthetic effect always depends on the sacrificial scene, but it is possible to reflect on this fact and learn to resist or defer desires for bloody imagery. Snuff films may be fun for some, but morality requires you not buy them. The American MSM has become a disgrace to the American people. From my vantage point, north of 49, the moral divide in America has become shockingly wide, and it is the smug, self-righteous elites who are on the wrong side.

Apr 9, 2005 - 11:32 pm 35. PeterUK:

The word “Pimps” keeps springing unbidden to the mind.

Apr 10, 2005 - 9:12 am 36. PeterUK:

I particularly liked this

“the inability of some bloggers to understand how a telephoto lens works apparently”

Guns firing,grenades exploding and not a trace of a flinch or camera shake,both of which are magnified by a telephoto lens,some camerman,the boy has a great future.

Apr 10, 2005 - 9:34 am 37. Buddy Larsen:

Peter, a simple tripod would’ve steadied that Haifa Street telephoto lense. I think all photographers keep hundreds of thousands of tripods set up in the middles of boulevards everywhere. Just in case a long-shot happens to come up. I know, we never see these tripods, but they’re there. They must be.

Why do you find this so hard to believe, can’t you understand a simple three-legged steadying device?

Apr 10, 2005 - 9:51 am 38. PeterUK:

Of course I understand about tripods,I have a state of the art self adjusting, paralax reduction all weather Acme tripedal camera support,mounted on gimbals which is proof against an ateroid strike,but I wouldn’t leave it on Haifa street.

Hundreds of thousands,really Mr Larson! I’ll wager there are just a few.The rest would be in Baghdad market by breakfast.

Apr 10, 2005 - 10:14 am 39. Buddy Larsen:

Well, there we have it, proof positive, nothing untoward about contract snuff shots, otherwise, there’d be nobody having breakfast. Thanks for clearing all that up, Peter!

Apr 10, 2005 - 10:27 am 40. Buddy Larsen:

Peter, how’s the PM looking, in the election?

Apr 10, 2005 - 10:33 am 41. PeterUK:

A shifty as usual Buddy

Apr 10, 2005 - 10:43 am 42. Buddy Larsen:

yeh…it’s easier for us over here to just root for him on the Stout Warrior grounds…we can look the other way on all that Labour Party baggage…lucky us!

Apr 10, 2005 - 12:18 pm 43. flenser:

Powerline has a new post on this topic.

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/2005_04.php#010128

Apr 10, 2005 - 12:33 pm 44. JJE:

Well, I see nobody around here is capable of actually making an argument, preferring to joke lamely about tripods and contract snuff shots. Sorry boys, you’re making outrageous accusations based on nothing more than speculation. I understand that you’re upset that your shiny war has to be marred by all this inconvenient killing, but whining about the perfidy of the MSM won’t stop it.

Apr 11, 2005 - 10:17 am 45. truepeers:

JJE, you see, we’ve created another lame joke!

I could link you to many analyses of the photo. BUt maybe a loyal school boy like yourself will be most impressed by the testimony of an MSM man. Check out the analysis of the photo, and of the lens likely used, by D. Gorton of the NYT:

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/2005_04.php#010128

Apr 11, 2005 - 11:03 am 46. truepeers:

OH yeah, and see, JJE, if you can’t use your superior intellect to deconstruct for us the latest analysis of Wretchard the Cat(!) at:

http://www.wretchard.com/blogs/the_belmont_club/archive/2005/04/11/1953.aspx#comments

Apr 11, 2005 - 11:07 am 47. Buddy Larsen:

Well, Truepeers, it’s my own fault…making the tripod joke gave him his “gotcha!”. Murder, Inc. will be thrilled.

Apr 11, 2005 - 12:05 pm 48. truepeers:

What I don’t get, Buddy, is how our trolls come to have such a simplistic caricature of who we are: “I understand that you’re upset that your shiny war has to be marred by all this inconvenient killing,”. Doesn’t he realize that intelligent people can see war for the horrible thing it is and still see it as necessary in some instances? Someone who can’t grasp the tragic nature of the war is someone, I suppose, who is not going to grasp easily how his rhetorical fun and games make him an apologist for murder. It’s all rather sad, really.

A polarized country and culture I can understand. But why is the one, shall we say left, side not doing more to promote intelligent commentary in order to bolster its position? Did you see the Glassman article in the NYT today on the photo? What utter drivel. It’s like the mark of honor for people today is to be top rank service providers for Propagandists R Us. No shame in it. Dumbing down, bald-faced partisanship, is cool. It’s obvious that we can never have a serious debate with the likes of JJE. But don’t they see how self-destructive this must be in the long run?

Do they take themselves seriously as (post)historical agents? Or is pomo irony taken to the nth degree seriously beyond seriousness? Buddy, I think you’re right that a renewed authenticity must be the next esthetic trend.

Apr 11, 2005 - 12:42 pm 49. Buddy Larsen:

Truepeers, the flash and glitter of “No More Rules”–courtesy of a 1965-80 government shoveling its people, treasure, dreams, and dignity into that carnally-attractive bonfire of the vanities–has blinded an awful lot of folks to the implications–as well as to the true universal (ir)relevance–of their own emotions.

GWB, for example: I think–because of his person alone–he attracts a lot of fury that ends expressed blindly, as an utterly unrecognized implicit betrayal of ordinary people, seeing them in the same form Saddam-types must see them: A big nameless Thing, silent, numb, without human aspect.

This ‘I’ve-been-personally-insulted’ fury wrote that NYT essay to wit above, it writes for old JJE here, it’s a fury that has willfully–because of fashion–blinded itself to any connection between today and all past policy causes/effects, political-economic history, and indeed human nature itself.

Just ask, if GWB was urban, urbane, accent-less, and looked Esquire-model elder-statesmanish, how much of his opposition would evaporate in a gnat’s eyelash?

Glib rhetoric has for sure–good observation–gone to the nth degree when its only purpose is to accuse action itself of being “glib rhetoric”.

Since it’s now at its nth degree, we can hope for a breakdown…we’re probably in that breakdown already, signs abound. Quiet dissolution–much better than a loud blowup. Thank you, Mr. President!

Apr 11, 2005 - 2:32 pm 50. truepeers:

Quiet dissolution, amen. But the nuclear nightmare is still out there and will our ivy-league victimologists get more or less self-righteous as attention turns to Iran and nukes in the hands of the ultimate children of the revolution, the theocrats who, by many reports, spend a lot of their time on junk, orgiastic sexual exploitation, and sundry acts of penal cruelty? Or will those guys remain anti-American cool? The next test of how much we’ve dissolved our delusion.

Apr 11, 2005 - 5:31 pm 51. JJE:

truepeers, sure I “realize that intelligent people can see war for the horrible thing it is and still see it as necessary in some instances?” but the advocacy of ridiculous conspiracy theories about the moral turpitude of the insidious MSM isn’t the mark of intelligent people. you made a lot of ipse dixit assertions about the Haifa street photo, nothing more. my point was that all this ranting boils down to shooting of the messenger. even if “wretchard”’s back of the napkin figuring is correct, the whole “AP collaborating with terrorists” theory is a pile of questionable inferences. personally, i would wait for something a little more solid before accusing the AP of being the propaganda arm of the insurgency, but i guess you can’t have a rational debate with the likes of me. after all, i’m a pomo ironist/loyal schoolboy/insert right-wing cliche here/whatever.

Apr 11, 2005 - 5:44 pm 52. Buddy Larsen:

Yep…the Atomic Mullahs are certainly making themselves into ‘future history’. Promising to burn Israel with nuclear fire–before they even have the nuclear fire–simply proves that they’re too damn crazy to be trusted with the nuclear fire. History is always used to prove current points, but apparenty the imagination needed to realize how easily WWII could’ve been avoided is something that breaks along the left/right divide. Alas.

Apr 11, 2005 - 5:48 pm 53. Buddy Larsen:

JJE, there’s more than just a “pile of questionable inferences” on these AP/CBS complaints. Your remark to Truepeers about his failure to take you seriously is not his sort of intention; it’s actually based on your automatic defense of a couple of institutions that have almost certainly stepped over a line that any nation wanting to remain a nation must establish for the entities that operate within it.

Try digging into the details–the entire story is IN those details–don’t just snap off a quick knee-jerk and ascribe the whole brouhaha to (insert-left-wing-cliche).

See what ya think when ya know the whole story. Frame it as though your daughter or brother is over there fighting–because, in a way, your daughter and your brother ARE over there fighting.

This actual thing actually happing is way, way too serious for this left/right sparring. let’s all try to get outside all this pre-packaging. Like real people, who used to be able to think.

Apr 11, 2005 - 6:09 pm 54. truepeers:

“the whole “AP collaborating with terrorists” theory is a pile of questionable inferences. personally, i would wait for something a little more solid before accusing the AP of being the propaganda arm of the insurgency, but i guess you can’t have a rational debate with the likes of me. after all, i’m a pomo ironist/loyal schoolboy/insert right-wing cliche here/whatever.”

But don’t you see – you’re just reinforcing my point with your sarcastic pomo irony, refusing to take our questioning of the AP seriously. And you do it without a comment on the Gorton-POwerline analysis of the photo. Read through the many comments in the Belmont archives, with more being written on today’s post, on why many of us kooky neo-con types think it is a staged photo, and tell us why we’re wrong, or be decent enough to say you can’t be bothered to be sure that all we say are indeed questionable inferences.

I’m not suggesting that everyone who works at the AP is a raving terrorist. Far from it. It is precisely the casual carelessness about the product they’re selling that infuriates me, the taken-for-granted assumption that blood sells and we want it, wherever it comes from, whatever the politics and agendas of those producing it. And if anyone questions us, heh, it’s a free market and we’re acting in it as moral neutrals, whatever that could possibly be. In practice, you can’t be neutral in a war – whatever the official or theoretical pronouncements of those who want to avoid trouble. The assumption that you can be neutral is perhaps the ultimate lie of pomo thought. Care to debate it?

TO the degree I am engaging in quick rhetorical shots, it is because I assume that we must locate this incident in a larger historical context to which the rhetoric is intended to refer. As many have asked, how is it that an American organization has come to be a thoughtless conduit for the muderous p.r. machine of the other side, even if indeed the photog had no prior knowledge that the killing was going to take place. What kind of morality thinks it appropriate to pay for and distribute such a photo under any circumstances? And put it up for a prize? Only people who take anti-Americanism for granted – and who find it a legitimate stance for American professionals to take up without professing what is their de facto support for the terrorists (since you can’t be neutral in a war) – cannot be upset by this photo. THis ultimately is what I want to debate, should you have the courage.

Apr 11, 2005 - 6:44 pm

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