Nir Rosen on Al-Jazeera

Remember, it was George W. Bush supposedly joked about bombing al-Jazeera’s headquarters in Qatar during the Fallujah siege back in 2004, and its was, of course, his armed forces that attacked the network’s offices in both Kabul (2001) and Baghdad (2003). (I don’t think the Pentagon ever presented persuasive evidence that it had not specifically targeted al-Jazeera, and I suspect that Bush wasn’t joking.)

In any event, read Nir Rosen’s piece on al-Jazeera’s role in the ongoing intifadas rippling through the Middle East. Then consider which has been the greater force for human rights and democracy in the region: George W. Bush and those freedom-loving neo-conservatives who served him, or their nemesis, al-Jazeera.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of neo-conservatives and democracy, don’t miss Peter Beinart’s piece on the subject on The Daily Beast website, entitled “The Right’s Hypocrisy on Freedom.”

Jim Lobe

Jim Lobe served for some 30 years as the Washington DC bureau chief for Inter Press Service and is best known for his coverage of U.S. foreign policy and the influence of the neoconservative movement.

SHOW 8 COMMENTS

8 Comments

  1. Or how about we not read Nir Rosen? And how about you quit pushing him off on readers, Jim Lobe. Nir Rosen’s remarks about Lara Logan were disgusting. His so-called apologies were disgusting. I read this site and IPS for information. Quit trying to pimp your friends off on me.

  2. Ryan, what sensitivity did American broadcasters show, or report regarding the murder of Al Jazeera reporters? Where was the concern over MURDER not just assault? How many stories covered that? Lara Logan’s attackers were Mubarak supporters, not the “people.” (edited by moderator) That is not to excuse the assault, but it’s an indictment of US allied, US trained soldier/mercenaries not the people of Egypt. The incident is not particularly illuminating nor telling and fits into the Anderson Cooper assault. That was more publicized but that appears to be the choice of the victims involved.

  3. No, Anomalous, you learn something. Ryan’s exactly right. What Nir Rosen did wasn’t a ‘joke,’ it wasn’t cute. And this inability by people that are supposed to be my comrades to draw a line and say, “That’s unnacceptable” is distressing to this rape survivor.
    I expect this crap from the right. I don’t expect it from my own side. I don’t expect that man can say a woman had it coming of a rape or sexual assault and we all just move on. It was replusive what he said and it went to the mind of an attacker. You call that out or you accept your part in the continued violence against women. As Valerie Strauss said at the Washington Post, “Rosen’s tweets on Logan more than crossed a line. They were more than cruel and insensitive. They revealed a perverted view of the world that has no place at any university, much less a prestigious one. Differences of opinion — even extreme ones — are one thing, welcome at an educational institution. Misogyny and distortions of reality are quite another.”
    Meanwhile Jim Lobe looks the other way all last week, ignores the whole thing suddenly shows up wanting to recommend a story by him.
    Jim, should I give you my rapist’s name so you can see if he writes as well? Or are you going to have the decency to call out this nonsense.
    I have never been this outraged before. And what’s becoming apparent is that when we say “the left” we really just mean “men on the left” while women have to take any s__t that gets thrown at us. If John McCain had said that, we’d be calling for his head. But it’s Nir Rosen so everyone’s supposed to look the other way. That’s outrageous. Again, Ryan doesn’t need to learn a thing but those who think that’s Rosen’s actions can be minimized better accept their role as enabler of rape and sexual assault.

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