Journalists on war
Hendrik Hertzberg's piece about the sea change of media opinion regarding the war might start a useful if heated discussion with students about media roles. Hertzberg references Walter Cronkite's famous 1968 broadcast upon the anchorman's return from Vietnam.
One notable current shift--Thomas Friedman's column "Time for Plan B" from the Aug. 4 edition of The New York Times.
Writes Hertzberg: "Among foreign-policy élites and the broader public alike, it has become the preponderant conviction that George W. Bush’s war of choice in Iraq is a catastrophe.
'It is now obvious that we are not midwifing democracy in Iraq,' Thomas L. Friedman wrote..... 'We are baby-sitting a civil war.' Friedman may not be another Walter Lippmann (just as any number of Stewarts, Olbermanns, O’Reillys, and Coopers don’t quite add up to a Cronkite), but he is the most influential foreign-affairs columnist in the country, and from the beginning he has been a critical supporter of the war."
A highlight from the Friedman column:
"When our top commander in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid, tells a Senate Committee, as he did yesterday, that 'the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it,' it means that three years of efforts to democratize Iraq are not working. That means 'staying the course' is pointless, and it's time to start thinking about Plan B -- how we might disengage with the least damage possible."
On the other hand, nothing seems to daunt the pro-Iraq War Economist. A piece "The Case for Staying On" in this week's issue uses some familiar words that work in its subhead: "Despite Iraq's relentless gloom, the United States should resist the temptation to cut and run."
One notable current shift--Thomas Friedman's column "Time for Plan B" from the Aug. 4 edition of The New York Times.
Writes Hertzberg: "Among foreign-policy élites and the broader public alike, it has become the preponderant conviction that George W. Bush’s war of choice in Iraq is a catastrophe.
'It is now obvious that we are not midwifing democracy in Iraq,' Thomas L. Friedman wrote..... 'We are baby-sitting a civil war.' Friedman may not be another Walter Lippmann (just as any number of Stewarts, Olbermanns, O’Reillys, and Coopers don’t quite add up to a Cronkite), but he is the most influential foreign-affairs columnist in the country, and from the beginning he has been a critical supporter of the war."
A highlight from the Friedman column:
"When our top commander in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid, tells a Senate Committee, as he did yesterday, that 'the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it,' it means that three years of efforts to democratize Iraq are not working. That means 'staying the course' is pointless, and it's time to start thinking about Plan B -- how we might disengage with the least damage possible."
On the other hand, nothing seems to daunt the pro-Iraq War Economist. A piece "The Case for Staying On" in this week's issue uses some familiar words that work in its subhead: "Despite Iraq's relentless gloom, the United States should resist the temptation to cut and run."
posted by Deidre at
7:12 AM
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