Lee1776

Join Date 08/2004

Did Newsweek kill the Democratic movement in the Middle East

Did Newsweek kill the Democratic movement in the Middle East?

I know this may seem a little over the top, but please follow my thoughts.

In the last year we have seen the first free elections in Afghanistan, and Iraq. There has been public demonstrations for fair Democratic elections in Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Pakistan and even Syria where a person can legally be killed for doing things like that. All of these demonstrations was broadcast through out the Middle East and have been praised by even those who have opposed past US actions in the Middle East. First time elections have or are scheduled to happen in countries that just three years ago was unthinkable. Women can now vote in Kuwait, and now as of two weeks ago can be issued a drivers license in Egypt.

The only counter demonstrations to these actions was when Syria had to bus in large numbers of paid demonstrators to Lebanon. (Payments the mainstream media refused to report) The Islamic radicals had nothing to demonstrate about and had no traction.

But will all this progress come to a screeching halt? Newsweek’s inflammatory and false story was simply rushed into the presses in order to sell papers, much like the yellow journalism during the turn of the previous century. Such careless reporting has given the ammunition the radicals have wanted to inflame the Islamic moderates.

Since the false story has been released I have seen no more progress in the march to Democracy in the Middle East. Lets hope that this one story will not end all future attempts to end Middle Eastern dictatorships and bring a new Democratic Golden Age to a region of the world that truly deserves it.

That’s My Two Cents

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"Newsweek’s inflammatory and false story was simply rushed into the presses in order to sell papers....."

Actually, the story itself was not proven to be false. Just the source for it was unsubstantiated. The story was true, but the practice of desecrating the koran ended in 2002, when officers instructed the soldiers to stop the practice.

One thing that the mainstream press seems to not want to discuss is that the people who demonstrated as a result of the Newsweek article did not go on a rampage and kill eachother. The Afghan police shot them dead. It seems to me the the neocons just exploited the story to make some kind of a sick point, that being that Muslims are barbaric. All it showed is that the neocons are barbaric, and those who do not research further, and buy into their half truths are getting willfully duped by this sick ideology. http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=428&row=1

As far as their being no progress in the Mideast, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, well duh......... You just noticed? It had nothing whatsoever to do with the Newsweek story. There hasn't been any progress since dubya declared "mission accomplished".

Iraq is a mess. People are still dying by the thousands. The infrastructure is in ruins. The "coalition" army is not accomplishing anything. They're fighting an enemy that is completely elusive to them, so they kill and destroy whatever sets them off.

And, that's my two cents.

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Iraq is a mess. People are still dying by the thousands.

and all this in the name of democratic expansion in the middle east.
or was it that the us needed a new base country to exploit ?
Democracy doesn't always work sure it works for the us just look at all the rights they have and every day in the name of "our war on terror" your rights are being pulled from under your feet.

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I really don't understand what people are saying sometimes. It's like the usual yardstick we traditionally use is being discarded for a cheap imitation. You speak of the elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, saying those are signs of progress and democracy and such. Afghanistan is nowhere near or any closer to achieving western democracy i.e. real democracy and we need only look at the US pupper premier Karzai. He has perhaps most of Kabul under control, yet still nowhere near secure. He is guarded by 200 American mercenaries around the clock. He can't go outside Kabul in any sort of safety. Not to mention the women's plight which contrarily to the official line is not any further along than it was before. Of course the women are no longer being executed in stadiums, but that leads right to my whole point over this. The lowering of standards to trick yourself into supporting what was nicely described as a pack of lies. Women aren't being executed anymore. That's progress? The women can walk with another man who is not a husband or relative, but actually they can't since a piece of paper and an x marked on it isn't going to turn back hundreds of years of history. Which in turn leads to the other problem which is the typical US ignorance to other cultures. And that's most unfortunate because it leads to people's conscious apathy when innocent people are killed.

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Actually, the story itself was not proven to be false. Just the source for it was unsubstantiated. The story was true, but the practice of desecrating the koran ended in 2002, when officers instructed the soldiers to stop the practice.

It may not have been proven false but it was NEVER proven trus either!

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I personally think that the middle-east fall prey to bunch of terrorists who don't understand Islam, must have never been to school, don't even know how to behave well and some kind of idiots who being paid to the highest bids to perform such insane acts. If you check and still reading about Iraq and the rest of the middle-east continent you will realise that, the US armies and Israelis elite secret armies are trully active on the ground. I don't expect the BBC, CNN or the New York Times dare to report such secret operatives mission. It is as simple as "IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW OUR ORDERS, WE WILL CLOSE DOWN YOUR BROADCASTING NETWORK SYSTEM".

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"may not have been proven false but it was NEVER proven trus either!"

Not according to Fox Faux News, and certainly no reason to scapegoat a reporter for the failings of a government's, be it Afghanistan and/or the US, actions

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"If you check and still reading about Iraq and the rest of the middle-east continent you will realise that, the US armies and Israelis elite secret armies are trully active on the ground."

If that is true, and to which I don't doubt, they are failing miserably. Things are still a mess, and not likely to improve anytime soon. I would love to see them succeed. I really would. The chaos and carnage that the Coalition forces brought to the people of Iraq is horrific, and reaching, and likely surpassing the carnage brought on by Saddamm himself. I protested it from the beginning, and I protest it now.

It just has to end, and I don't think it will until the troops are withdrawn. There will likely be a bloodbath, but isn't one occurring already? This invasion has so horrifically destabilized the region, that only they will be able to sort out the mess we brought them. I heard a soldier on the radio yesterday stating that, at first, some Iraqis welcomed the US forces at the beginning of the invasion. But not any more. They all want us out, and they want their oil back, from whomever was stealing it whenever. We are just not helping anymore. We seem to only be there for two reasons - 1) saving what modicum of face we may have left, which is likely doomed to failure, and 2) the oil reserves.

"It is as simple as "IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW OUR ORDERS, WE WILL CLOSE DOWN YOUR BROADCASTING NETWORK SYSTEM"."

Yup. And when the government controls the media like this, the slippery slope of fascism begins to creep and accelerate along. We are definitely there. They want the mainstream media to present rosy and winning pictures all the time to maintain the false sense of support for this lunacy. I've given up on mainstream media. They're sheeple reporting the head sheeple's news. You have to dig deeper and research from other sources. We are lucky because we now have the internet, so a full-blown fascism isn't something that these neocons will be able to get away with for much longer.

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Island Dog

Join Date 06/2003

+1051

Have any of you actually taken the time to read the good news out of Iraq? Most of which debunks all your claims here.

They all want us out, and they want their oil back, from whomever was stealing it whenever. We are just not helping anymore. We seem to only be there for two reasons - 1) saving what modicum of face we may have left, which is likely doomed to failure, and 2) the oil reserves.

You and your oil conspiracies again. Don't you know you are wrong? Is there really a point to arguing with a left wing wacko about this?

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Actually the story is a bald faced lie and no one with any credibilty has said that any defacement of the Koran took place ever. Just that it was 'inappropriately' handled on a few ocassions. Dabe, wrong and consistently so.

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The story was true

Prove it. The only source has said he had heard it from a second hand source. Which in military speak "Things made up out of thin air". It is this simple; a reporter looking for that great front page article heard a water cooler rumor. They kicked over every rock looking for that zinger story. They finally found someone in the Defense Department that heard the same rumor, but that was all. The reporter now has a source and runs with a story that never happened.

Just because you wish something to be true dabe, it does not make it so. It is not the Government's job to disprove every story that a reporter makes up in their head (I could make up stories all day), it is the reporter's job to produce a true story support by facts. I am getting tried of hearing the LA Times posting Op. Ed pieces as their head lines, and saying that events are fact even is they never happened.

As far as their being no progress in the Mideast, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, well duh......... You just noticed? It had nothing whatsoever to do with the Newsweek story. There hasn't been any progress since dubya declared "mission accomplished".

What are you smoking? Have you hidden your head in the sand so far, that you can't see anything? Thousands in the streets of Lebanon, Saudi Arabia holding municipal elections, Iraqi's electing a party into power that was not hand picked by the US, etc..... Please read my article again and you will notice that I was saying no new event since the Newsweek Article.

He has perhaps most of Kabul under control, yet still nowhere near secure. He is guarded by 200 American mercenaries around the clock.

What the hell do you know about Afghanistan? My previous full time unit the 113th Aviation Co. from the Nevada National Guard is there right now. I was a member of that unit for four years, Graduated with the Commander of the unit and personnel know over 2/3rds of the unit. Every thing I hear from them is that the 20,000 man Afghanistan Army Link is in control of the majority of the country. That theater of the war on Terror has had little reporting on and all of those from the 113th that I have spoken to commented only good things happening in that country. But the press doesn’t report how good things are there. Just listen to any soldiers posted there appearing in front of a news programs and the common complaint is the under reporting of the improvements.

Of course the women are no longer being executed in stadiums, but that leads right to my whole point over this. The lowering of standards to trick yourself into supporting what was nicely described as a pack of lies. Women aren't being executed anymore. That's progress?

Yes. I think not being executed is an improvement.

And that's most unfortunate because it leads to people's conscious apathy when innocent people are killed.

And who is doing most of the killing now? Not the US military, but the Radicals that would just as soon be killing you too and send the Middle East back to dictatorships or petty thugs. Hell, the closes thing to a Democracy in the Middle East before 2002 was Turkey, Israel, and Iran’s elections choosing between two extreme mullahs.

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