Gareth Smyth, Tehran correspondent of the Financial Times, has this to say about the current crisis in Iran: For many viewers in Arab and Muslim countries, the contrast with the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay or Abu Ghraib would have been self-evident.
Say what? I thought this guy was Tehran correspondent. As every citizen of that city (evidently except Mr. Smyth) knows full well, their Evin Prison is one of the worst hellholes on the planet, from which many people never emerge alive. It makes Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo seem like country clubs. (Indeed reports from Guantanamo indicate it really is.)
In fact, the presence of places like Evin Prison are what keeps the Iranian regime in place. I recently (last week) met a man who spent many years there, one of the leaders of the Iranian student movement. They used to torture his brother (also a student leader) in front of him. Then switch back and forth. The man now has his face entirely pushed in and looks like a Picasso. The brother was ultimately murdered in that prison. The man I met escaped with the aid of friends through Kurdish territories. I wonder if Mr. Smyth would like to interview him. It could be arranged. But then he might have trouble holding onto his press clearances in Tehran.
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14 Comments
1. Barry Dauphin:Maybe Gareth Smyth is related to Eason Jordan. And maybe his comment indicates that either he is simply an ass or is an ass operating under Iranian observation.
Mar 28, 2007 - 4:44 pm 2. ricpic:What’s the big mystery? Smyth is simply an America hater.
Mar 28, 2007 - 5:02 pm 3. photoncourier.blogspot.com:By coincidence, I was picking on FT today…the subject was light bulbs rather than any life-and-death issue. But the lack of professionalism in one case, and the useful-idiot behavior in the other, combine to make me wonder if I really want to keep subscribing to this publication.
Mar 28, 2007 - 7:44 pm 4. fred:As noted, Mr Smyth is in the traditon of Eason Jordan who kept the CNN in Bagdhad as long as he didn’t upset Saddam, and going back aways, to the NYT’s Herbert Matthews whose glowing writing about Castro & Co, resulting in a someone running a “I got my job through the New York Times” ad with a picture of Fidel Castro. And, not to forget, Walter Durante’s false coverage of the 1930s show trials in the Soviet Union and of the non-starvation of the farmers in the Ukraine, getting the Pulitzer prize for his rosy reporting of one of these outrageous events.
Mar 28, 2007 - 9:12 pm 5. TomTom:Most journalists are vermin. (Sigh) The sad fact is most readers want to believe what they read. The vermin have us by the throat and won’t let go. That’s their tradition, as fred notes above.
Mar 28, 2007 - 11:04 pm 6. TomTom:And they are everywhere. Tonight I caught a bit of NBA commentary on ESPN re the Chinese center Yao; said China has a “long cultural history” (50 years is long?) of “Friendship before competition, said Chairman Mao”, which the big guy had to unlearn to ably play in the NBA.
Mar 28, 2007 - 11:13 pm 7. Terrye:If I read it correctly Smyth said: For many viewers in Arab and Muslim countries…which might be true. But then for many viewers in Arab and Muslim countries the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are nonfiction as well.
The truth is the Arabs and the French could give the Russians lessons in how to run bad prisons. And most people know that. Including Smyth.
Mar 29, 2007 - 3:43 am 8. Peter Reaper:I don’t understand. The report did say “contrast“. So isn’t he saying that the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay or Abu Ghraib is different from treatment of prisoners in Iranian prisons?
Mar 29, 2007 - 5:48 am 9. Lem:You see, we have nothing to fear from Iran’s invitation for sleepovers of British soldiers, nor Iran’s aspirations for a nuclear exchange with Israel. The world has not had one for some time. Who knows it may be good for fighting global warming. Remember nuclear winter?
Now if only Henry Waxman’s panel could find out why some White House emails were generated from RNC accounts as opposed to hotmail or Yahoo we would have something.
Now that Yahoo announced unlimited e-mail storage Henry is going to have to expand the investigation (more money). How are we going to know how much spam the WH has generated?
We need to get to the bottom of this.
Mar 29, 2007 - 8:08 am 10. dclydew:To be fair, while some people are acting as Useful Fools, I think its good to see the average American upset by Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Neither of these names evoke traditional American values. Things happened at AG that were so completely out of line with what we all believe in, that to us its horrific.
As Roger points out, much worse happens in other countries. We can argue that this appears true not just of Iran and North Korea, but of many countries. America has lost a little more innocence after 9/11 and even more after AG. The fact that we have to have some place like Guantanamo doesn’t negate the distaste that many display. We may have to do it, but that doesn’t mean we have to be proud of it, or revel in it. For many people, adjusting to lost innocence takes time and I think many people that were already having problems with our post-9/11 world and some of the social issues already in play before then, haven’t been able to accept the true horror of our times.
I think I feel safer with American citizens that detest AG and Guantanamo, rather than those that gleefully say “They deserve it”. On the other hand, I’d prefer American leaders that can accept the bitter pill and feel ill when they support what we must do.
Mar 29, 2007 - 11:30 am 11. fred:This is a copy and paste from today’s powerlineblog.com/ That Madam Pelosi would delay a resolution supporting the U.K. against Iran, for even a moment, is appalling. It has to continue to raise questions about where the loyalties of the Democratic Party leadership to this country and its strongest allies lie.
____________________________
Pelosi Refusing to Support British on Iran?
It’s hard to believe, but that’s what we’re hearing from Capitol Hill. A resolution has been proposed in the House of Representatives that condemns Iran for the seizure of British sailors and marines, expresses support for our British allies. It’s hard to see anything controversial in that. But apparently, the resolution has languished all week while Pelosi refuses to allow it to come to the floor.
Earlier today, Congressman Eric Cantor wrote the following letter to Pelosi:
Dear Madam Speaker:
Fifteen kidnapped British marines and sailors recently became the latest victims of a systematic Iranian campaign of terror and international defiance. The illegal seizure of the British forces is a signal that Iran views us as powerless to prevent it from realizing its aggressive ambitions.
For the sake of our standing in the world, our allies and most importantly the 15 British personnel and their families, I urge you to bring H. Res. 267 to the floor today before we adjourn. The resolution calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the British marines and sailors. It would also call on the U.N. Security Council to not only condemn the seizure, but to explore harsher sanctions to counter the growing Iranian threat.
A Republican Congressional staffer writes:
It is simply staggering to me that Pelosi refuses to stand beside America’s closest ally. I literally would not have thought this possible, until I saw it this week.
Staggering, indeed. We’ll see what happens this afternoon.
Posted by John at 01:17 PM | Permalink | |
Mar 29, 2007 - 11:57 am 12. Soldier's Dad:“For many viewers in Arab and Muslim countries, the contrast with the treatment of prisoners”
Let me read it exactly how viewers in Arab in Muslim countries read it..
“The contrast to how citizens in Arab and Muslim countries are treated compared to foreigners is enormous. A citizen arrested usually appears on TV bloodied and beaten.”
Mar 30, 2007 - 4:43 pm 13. Joanne Jacobs:I wonder if Arab viewers know what goes on their nation’s prisons. I suspect most do.
A reporter not stationed in Iran should explain to Westerners how Evin compares to a British prison or to Abu Ghraib.
Mar 31, 2007 - 10:35 am 14. ET:I tried to leave a comment on this post when I lived in Iran, but it was impossible. Let me tell you why before I leave my comment. This site is blocked in Iran so circumventors must be used. Apparently, typepad does not allow someone using a circumventor to submit a comment. Login is possible, but not submit. Frustrating.
My comment was this: Gareth Smyth is far from a “useful fool.” He was far and away the foreign reporter in Iran with the best sources. His articles were well-researched and well-written. People talked to him who wouldn’t talk to any other reporter.
He stated the obvious which you quoted at the top of this post. Do you think Iranians do not know what goes on in Evin? Of course they do. Why do you think that Iranians in Iran did not get worked up about Abu Gharib? This does not mean that people do not make comparisons. The Iranian government wanted that very comparison made: it was a ploy. And, unfortunately, we made it easy for them with Abu Gharib and Guantanamo. Who cares that Evin is a pit?
Oct 14, 2007 - 2:44 am