2008: LAT Calls For More Clarity on Iraq; Obama Calls Talabani
June 27th, 2008 by Matt
LA Times writer James Rainey, dismayed at the current state of campaign discourse on Iraq (”amounts to a bout of locker- room towel snapping”), calls up a few experts to get their two cents on areas where the candidates need to be pressed for more detail. Rainey charges the media with cutting through the fog that has settled over the Iraq issue, but he also hopes they cut the candidates some slack if their positions change–getting away from trying to catch every “flip-flop”.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama presumably talked about Iraq in some detail with Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, but didn’t put out a particularly illuminating statement about their conversation.
Posted in Election 08, Iraq, US media | Comment »
The Power of Language
May 29th, 2008 by Sarah
Lawrence Pintak, Jeremy Ginges, and Nicholas Felton opine in the New York Times that President Bush’s description of the Arab media as a purveyor of anti-American propaganda reflects a broader failure to use Arab journalists as a potential “weapon in the war of ideas against terrorism.”
Bret Stephens, writing for the Wall Street Journal, condemns the Department of Homeland Security’s recommendation to use the term “progress” instead of “liberty” when defining foreign policy goals. While the DHS issued these recommendations in order to “better engage the Muslim world,” Stephens suggests that doing so sidesteps our true policy goals of ending totalitarianism, and he argues that the U.S. should not shrink from using the word “liberty.”
Posted in Arab media, Journalism, US foreign policy, US media | Comment »
The Muslim Divide and Western Perceptions
May 5th, 2008 by Amanda
Over the weekend BBC World broadcast “The Doha Debates” hosted by Qatar Foundation, on the Sunni-Shia conflict as portrayed in the media. Sayyed Hassan al-Qazwini, imam of the largest mosque in North America, is disconcerted by the widespread radicalization of Muslims by Western press. He also affirms that the media misinterprets the Sunni-Shiite split that has historically been, and continues to be motivated more by politics than religion.
Speakers included Informed Comment contributor Juan Cole, former advisor to Jordanian King Hussein General Ali Shukri, and Dr. Hisham Hellyer, fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
At Dipnote, the official State Department blog, the “Question of the Week: What Impact Would Press Freedom Have on People Without It?
Posted in Journalism, Qatar, US media | Comment »
Look Beyond Baghdad, PRT Member Asks
November 29th, 2007 by Sean
Today in the CS Monitor, a Provincial Reconstruction Team member Jon Dorschner in the Dhi Qar province argues that the current American debate on Iraq is focused too narrowly on Baghdad, to the exclusion of other important developments.
Posted in Foreign Aid, Iraq, US media | Comment »
Restrictions on Free Press Spread to US
October 19th, 2007 by Celest
Ilan Weinglass, in the Washington Times, writes how Saudi billionaire Khalid bin Mahfouz has used British libel laws to silence allegations that he funded al-Qaeda. “A number of leading American publications including The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and USA Today have publicly retracted allegations made about Mr. Mahfouz on their pages.” He describes this as “disturbing” since the Treasury Department has reported significant evidence.
Posted in Freedom, US media | Comment »
Arab and American Media in Shaping Mutual Perceptions and Misperceptions
October 17th, 2007 by Amanda
Marc Lynch in his blog, Abu Aardvark, highlights the Arab and American media and their role in “shaping mutual perceptions and misperceptions.” Lynch addresses Arab coverage of the United States and describes how al-Jazeera’s heavy coverage of the 2004 Presidential election was “really extraordinary” at covering the contours of the American political system. Yet, he goes on to ask if this instance “represented a single moment, the exception rather than the rule?”
Posted in Journalism, US media | Comment »
Muslim Leaders Issue Open Letter to Christian Churches
October 15th, 2007 by Sean
An open letter addressed to the leaders of Christian churches, signed by 138 Muslim leaders and issued last week, has begun to attract a great deal of attention in the past few days. The letter, entitled “A Common Word Between Us and You” outlines the “basis for peace and understanding” which exists in both religions, and calls for interfaith dialogue, as “our common future is at stake.”
Some have described the letter as ‘historic’ and stated that the Muslim signatories “represent all schools of Islamic thought,” while John Cullinan in the National Review argues that the letter lacks specificity and substance.
Posted in US media | Comment »
Iranian Bloggers Respond to Ahmedinejad’s Visit to Columbia
October 1st, 2007 by Sean
Tom Parker of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center published yesterday in the International Herald Tribune an interesting compilation of excerpts from Iranian blogs concerning Ahmedinejad’s speech last week. The active Iranian blogosphere, though nominally under government observation, offered a range of often-critical reactions to their President’s visit, and the event’s coverage in the American media.
Posted in Iran, Public Opinion, US media | Comment »
More Debate on the Surge and Crocker-Petraeus Report
September 12th, 2007 by Sean
The Economist gives a good overview of the debate.
John Tabin at American Spectator writes that though the military goals of the surge are working, the political stalemate in the capital leaves the establishment of “local institutions that would take over the for the national government under a soft partition,” as the only positive progress on the political front.
In the National Review, Peter Wehner states that the Crocker-Petraeus report has given the U.S. strategy in Iraq needed space to maneuver until next summer. For his part, Robert Scheer at the Nation accuses the general and the ambassador of duplicity in their testimony before Congress.
Posted in Iraq, US media, US politics | Comment »
Questioning the Question: Why do They Hate Us?
September 11th, 2007 by Sean
“Why don’t ‘you’ ask ‘them’?” Mohamed Elmenshawy queries in the Christian Science Monitor, highlighting the problematic nature of the debate about Arab discontent with America. He argues that a lack of indigenous Arab voices in Washington and a tendency towards misleading simplifications have stalled the effort for mutual understanding.
James Carroll writes in the International Herald-Tribune of the difficulties that this question, and the sense of American victimhood that understandably arises every September 11th, present for our foreign policy.
Posted in Public Opinion, US media | Comment »
Our Voices Together Event: U.S. & The World
August 30th, 2007 by Shir
Our Voices Together held an event this morning on “Foreign Perceptions of the U.S. & American Understanding of Foreign Cultures,” in which four young foreign journalists spoke on various issues related to the media, cross-cultural understanding and perception, and violence.
Amr Emam (Egypt), stressed the U.S. is perceived negatively for its policies, not its values. He spoke about the deficiency in American media in covering events in the Middle East, in particular the atrocities the U.S. is complicit or involved in.
Sabrina Valle (Brazil) expanded on these issues, saying that global issues were absent from or distorted in American media. Miscommunication occurs, she said, because the rest of the world thinks Americans get the same news they do.
Mugumo Munene (Kenya) spoke about the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi to highlight a great disappointment for Kenyans in receiving American assistance, and the unequal focus on American deaths in the tragedy.
Shamim Ashraf (Bangladesh) stressed American foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly towards Israel and in Iraq, are at the heart of a deep mistrust of America.
The panelists agreed that personal connections and improved education in foreign issues would greatly support better global relations, and expressed hope for much improvement.
Posted in Foreign Aid, US media | Comment »
2008: Reaction to Richardson Speech
June 28th, 2007 by Matt
As promised, some reaction to the Richardson speech on Iran yesterday:
MSNBC’s First Read blog had a quick reaction piece touching on Richardson’s major points. Bob McMahon at CFR commends Richardson for the thoughtfulness and nuance present in the speech. Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post that Richardson’s speech had all the hallmarks of someone aspiring to the vice presidency. Ed Morrissey at Captain’s Quarters reacts to Milbank’s column. A DailyKos diarist says that so far, Richardson is offering the best foreign policy ideas.
Posted in Election 08, Iran, US media | Comment »
Understanding Political Islam
April 25th, 2007 by Jonathan
POMED founding member Shadi Hamid has a post at the blog Democracy Arsenal about how much the American media has misunderstood political Islam. He also points to a similar piece by Andrew Mandelbaum at the blog Democratic Piece.
Posted in Political Islam, US media | Comment »
Interesting Tidbit from The Washington Note
March 30th, 2007 by Jonathan
In his roundup of the “Opinions Award”, Steve Clemons wrote that “[Tucker] Carlson said he’s a ‘paleo’ conservative and that national interests rather than democracy crusades should guide our foreign policy course. Lehrer said that interests should always drive our foreign policy but that didn’t mean rejecting efforts to promote democracy. But he said ‘It’s one thing to have a war to spread democracy and another to just favor democracy.’ Carlson said that he had no problem building strong relations with a benign dictatorship (not sure if that’s an oxymoron) when it was in our national interests”.
I though this was an interesting aside of how some prominent members in the Washington Media feel about the idea of democracy promotion.
Posted in US media | Comment »
