Stephen Walt: Top ten media failures in the Iran war debate

[Lief 🗽]

I recommend reading the entire article, but I've posted the top ten below:

1: Mainstreaming the war.
2: Loose talk about Iran's "nuclear [weapons] program."
3: Obsessing about Ahmadinejad.
4: Ignoring Iranian weakness.
5: Failing to ask why Iran might want a bomb.
6: Failing to consider why Iran might NOT want a bomb.
7: Exaggerating Israel's capabilities.
8: Letting spinmeisters play fast and loose with facts.
9. What about the human beings?
10. Could diplomacy work?

If the United States and Israel do attack Iran, it'll be the fault of a mainstream press that has, once again, completely shirked its responsibilities in reporting the truth and challenging the propaganda of the warhawks in both countries.

[dead0man]

You'd think if the mainstream media was itching for a war with Iran they'd mention all the things Iran has done recently that could be seen as acts of war against the US and Israel.  But on the main page of the various mainstream news outlets you have stories about pink slime, American Idol, Whitey Bulgar's girlfriend and Obama's bracket.

[Lief 🗽]

The media isn't acting maliciously, dead0; they're simply lazy and irresponsible.

[dead0man]

ahhhh, well that's not exactly...ahem....news is it?

[Jacobtm]

You'd think if the mainstream media was itching for a war with Iran they'd mention all the things Iran has done recently that could be seen as acts of war against the US and Israel. 

The U.S. and/or Israel are murdering Iranian nuclear scientists.

The U.S. is imposing brutal sanctions against Iran.

Israel has obviously killed far more members of Hezbollah than Hezbollah has ever killed Israelis.

Iran is merely retaliating. And not even giving as good as they're getting. Though to an empire, any retaliation is a provocation. A country that doesn't bend over to us is seen as a grave threat, especially one with the gall to do ANYTHING back to us or our friends. 

[dead0man]

You'd think if the mainstream media was itching for a war with Iran they'd mention all the things Iran has done recently that could be seen as acts of war against the US and Israel. 

The U.S. and/or Israel are murdering Iranian nuclear scientists.

An assumption.  A good and likely true assumption, but an assumption none the less.  Would you rather there be an invasion?  Murdering men working on a device that could kill many thousands of your countrymen is a little different than murdering an entire embassy.

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"brutal" heh?  And Iran has to do very little to get those lifted.  Just like Gaza!

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Like the other thread, being good at keeping your own people alive and good at killing bad guys ISN"T WRONG and shouldn't be looked at as a negative.  Who are the Hezzies killing and trying to kill?

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'cause they suck at it.  But once again, look at who they are trying to kill.  It aint military targets, it's embassies.  Do you not arrest the pedo that sucks at luring children into his old van?

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Indeed, you'd think these places would learn something.  You don't have to be our friends, but you can't Eff with us....eventually, sometimes, we'll Eff with you back.

[Beet]

Stephen Walt? IIRC he got accused of anti-semitism several years ago for writing a pdf file that pointed out some disadvantages of the US to the Israeli alliance.

[Vosem]

The U.S. and/or Israel are murdering Iranian nuclear scientists.

The U.S. is imposing brutal sanctions against Iran.

Israel has obviously killed far more members of Hezbollah than Hezbollah has ever killed Israelis.

This is all a good thing.