Kabul under siege? The Globe and Mail weighs in
Something smells. A Newsweek headline from July 26:
It wouldn't be the first time a Globe reporter in Afstan got the idea of a "major" piece from somewhere else. From a post May 31:
The Taliban’s Baghdad StrategyAn International Herald Tribune headline August 13:
The insurgents are closing in on Kabul, not in order to overrun the capital but to terrorize its residents and drive away investors. It's working.
Afghanistan's Kabul-Kandahar highway: A lifeline plagued with insurgentsA headline from the Times, August 23:
Rockets, guile and the lessons of history: the Taleban besiege KabulNow a front page headline in the Globe, Oct. 14 (story by Graeme Smith):
Reversal of fortune leaves Kabul under Taliban's thumbI find it perishingly odd that differing versions of essentially the same terribly gloomy story pop up every few weeks--but only in isolated articles. If the situation really were that bad, why aren't the media generally all over it most of the time? And why did the Globe not get on it for some two and a half months?
It wouldn't be the first time a Globe reporter in Afstan got the idea of a "major" piece from somewhere else. From a post May 31:
...And here's a real corker for headline comparisons; both are on stories by Jason Burke in the Observer:
Meanwhile the Globe and Mail's Doug Saunders manages to find the terrible implications of what many consider increasingly successful US counterinsurgency efforts in the east; I strongly suspect Mr Saunders read the piece at the link and decided to put his own spin on things; gotta keep the paper's agenda going:Afghanistan: colonialism or counterinsurgency?
Americans bring Afghans their new 60-year plan...
Taliban win over locals at the gates of KabulNow check the dates of the two stories and let us know what you think of such journalism.
While clashes in remote Helmand dominate the headlines, another battle is being waged by the insurgents on Kabul's doorstep. There, the Taliban are winning support by building a parallel administration, which is more effective, more popular and more brutal than the government's
Taliban plan to fight through winter to throttle Kabul
Militia fighters are operating just an hour's drive from the capital's suburbs, confident of undermining Western support for the war
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 1:09 p.m.
5 Comments:
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Dave, I have no problem with criticism of the MSM, but the wording of your comment was over the line, in my opinion. And since I'm the one who would have to deal with the libel suit, my opinion is the one that counts.
If you want a copy of what you wrote so you can tweak it and repost a revised version, just e-mail me.
And for what it's worth, I'm not sure the Kabul article by Smith was motivated by anything other than his own extensive experience in the country and current events. Remember, Graeme Smith has spent more time in Afghanistan - by far - than any other Canadian journalist (he's spent more than a year embedded with the CF alone, and for awhile he kept an office in Kandahar City). That doesn't mean he's always right, but it does mean his opinion carries some weight with me.
Unlike many in the MSM, he's not pulling this stuff out of his ass.
Babbling, that's certainly your prerogative...and I certainly wouldn't want to be the catalyst for any legal difficulties for you.
I'd rather not revise what I said, as it's what I really think about many in the N. American MSM. So, let's just leave it at that and I hope there's no hard feelings between us. I'll try to be more circumspect in future.
(PS. my co-workers think I'm a bit grouchy and opinionated too...as well as being an awful singer. :-)
No, Dave, no hard feelings. Again, it wasn't the sentiment, just the way it was worded, that's all.
Remember, we have far tighter "free speech" laws up here than you do in your country...
Maybe the G&M "reporter" found some old copies of "reading material" in one of the Crappers inside the wire at Kandahar and decided, while doing his business, it would make a good defeatist story.
Just a theory.
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