It's interesting what news the mainstream media reports from the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York this week, and what it doesn't. The focus has been almost solely on Bush versus Iranian President Ahmadinejad, as though we're watching a dress rehearsal for the next war. There's also Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Someone the mainstream media seems overly eager to paint as a madman, refusing to lend credence to any of his words, some of which give an accurate, if not diplomatically nuanced, assessment of Felonious George.
Yet, while these pissing contests and name-calling dramas receive the spotlight, substantive criticisms from Bush's allies draw little or no attention. Take, for instance, these words from Pakistan's President Musharraf:
While we confront terrorism, our strategy must seek to eliminate this phenomenon comprehensively. We cannot do so unless we understand and address the root causes of terrorism today. How are terrorists able to find willing recruits even among educated youth and democratic societies? The reasons are clear. Across the Muslim world, old conflicts and new campaigns of military intervention have spawned a deep sense of desperation and injustice. Each new battleground involving an Islamic state has served as a new breeding ground for extremists and terrorists. Indiscriminate bombings, civilian casualties, torture, human rights abuses, racial slurs and discrimination only add to the challenge of defeating terrorism.
Note to mainstream media: How about more articles revolving around Musharraf's and other allies' constructive criticisms of the war on terror, and fewer stories on how much we should fear Ahmadinejad and Chavez.
Besides, when our own president started an illegal war based on fixed intelligence, runs secret prisons, orders the torture of human beings, curtails free speech, spies on his own citizens and attempts to rewrite laws to retroactively immunize his administration from war crimes, it's a little absurd to act as if he has any moral high ground.
Bush Allies In War On Terror: We Need A New Approach
Think Progress
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