A Monumental Story — and How the Press Chose to Cover It
Peter H. Wehner
(12/04)
Yesterday one of the extraordinary moments in modern political history occurred: the freely elected President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, was sworn in. This development is stunning, particularly if you recall that those deeply skeptical about the power of liberty said Afghanistan was too backward; too fractious; too medieval and religiously fanatical; and too ungovernable to ever move toward democracy.
There are of course still large challenges in Afghanistan. It is not as stable as, say, Switzerland. Terrorist cells in Afghanistan still need to be destroyed. The drug trade needs to be confronted and crushed. And there are certainly pockets of stiff resistance. Nevertheless, the strides that have been taken have been extraordinary — and the achievements ought to be a source of encouragement and celebration. As a reference point, think of where things stood at the beginning of the Bush Administration.
Afghanistan was a base for international terrorism, the home of al Qaeda, and home to the Taliban, one of the most brutal regimes on the face of the planet. Recall that Mohammed Omar and his feared Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice enforced Taliban law through religious police. They cracked whips at recalcitrant mosque-goers and banished women to the window-blocked confines of their homes. Women faced health care restrictions, were forbidden to attend school, and were forced to wear head-to-toe gowns. Afghans who converted to Christianity were executed. The Taliban banned everything from makeup and photography to musical instruments, chessboards, playing cards, neckties, nail polish, and kites. Cheers at soccer matches are restricted to “Allah-u-akbar,” or “God is great.” Women suspected of adultery were buried up to their shoulders before being stoned to death. Suspected homosexuals were killed by collapsing walls onto them. Life was severely constricted by an endless list of rules that created a variant of Islam never seen before, according to Muslim scholars.
Prior to the war to liberate Afghanistan, we heard ad nauseam that Afghanistan was the graveyard of two great empires (the British in the 19th century and the Soviet in the 20th century). In the first few weeks after the war began, great geo-political thinkers like The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd and R.W. Apple, Jr. ridiculed the Bush Administration’s war plan and invoked the specter of — you guessed it — Vietnam. The Afghan war ended successfully in six weeks — and now, only three years after the war began, a free election was held and a civilized, modern, pro-American President was sworn it. Given this momentous event, I checked the morning papers to find out where this story appeared. The New York Times carried the story on page A8. The Washington Post carried the story on page A13. USA Today had the briefest mention possible on page A5. The Los Angeles Times carried the story on page A3. And The Wall Street Journal’s coverage consisted of this front-page mention (in its “What’s News” column): ”Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan’s president. Taliban rebels attacked a military base near the Pakistani borders, killing four soldiers. U.S. troops killed two assailants.”
As a general matter, much of the media has clearly chosen to downplay all that has been achieved in Afghanistan, for reasons I will let others dilate on. There is no question, however, that the progress we have seen in that nation has been downplayed to a remarkable degree by the mainstream press. And to the extent there is coverage, it often focuses on the worst possible news, while largely ignoring encouraging developments. I do want to call particular attention to the Los Angeles Times story by Paul Watson. Here are the 5th and 6th paragraphs of his story: ”Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium, accounting for an estimated three-quarters of the global supply. Afghan farmers have increased their opium production by 64% this year, according to a United Nations report, and much of it is processed into heroin. ”The Taliban regime was close to eradicating opium farming before U.S.-led forces overthrew the extremist mullahs in late 2001 for harboring the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Several Afghan warlords who are U.S. allies, as well as the Taliban, are now said to be profiting from the opium trade, which is worth billions of dollars to Afghanistan’s struggling economy.” The implication is clear enough; the Taliban regime — whose brutality Mr. Watson chose to downplay in his story — was doing wonderful anti-drug work before it was overthrown by U.S.-led forces.
And people wonder why the mainstream media is held in such low regard these days. Peter_H._Wehner@who.eop.gov
