Death by moral blindness
Sunday May 23 2004
Now, how many times have you seen the film of the psychotic Abu al-Zarqawi holding up the severed head of Nick Berg? Well, unless you've taken the trouble to search for it on the internet, the chances are that you'll just have to use your imagination.
The treatment of these two stories tells you everything you need to know about the moral blindness of our so-called liberal media.
The reason? One story can be used to attack George Bush, the other can't. In fact, there's a very good argument to be made that the photos from Abu Ghraib should never have been made public at all. Before anyone starts bleating about censorship, remember that the following images have all been suppressed by the mainstream media: people jumping to their deaths on September 11, the throat-cutting of US journalist Daniel Pearl and the butchery of American troops in Fallujah.
But when the opportunity arose to print photos of abused Iraqis and demonise Americans in the process, it suddenly became imperative to show every revolting detail.
In other words, when Arabs commit terrible crimes, we're told that it would be inappropriate to let us see the full horror. When Americans commit terrible crimes, the anti-war media shoves it in our faces at every available opportunity.
In case this seems like a mere academic point, consider this. The blanket-use of the Abu Ghraib images has clearly inflamed tensions in the region and will therefore help to prolong the war. And so, whether they realise it or not, the left-wing media's morally brain-dead campaign to bring down George Bush is going to end up costing lives - American and Iraqi. I wonder who'll get the blame for that?
- Andrew Lynch
