As Others See U.S. -- The "War on Terror"
by Norman Solomon
from CommonDreams
The USA's mass media constantly tell us how Americans see the "war on terror." But the same outlets rarely tell us much about how the rest of the world sees it.
Five years after 9/11, the gap between perceptions is enormous. Countless polls confirm the overall chasm. Yet, day to day, the media messages that surround us in the United States simply recycle American views for American viewers, listeners and readers.
But there are exceptions. A recent one aired on "PRI's The World," a co-production of Public Radio International, WGBH in Boston and the BBC World Service. "We decided to check in with people in different parts of the globe to get their perspectives on the White House's war on terror," the anchor said on the Sept. 5 broadcast.
And for the next six minutes, the American audience got an earful -- from four speakers who were not just expressing their own views. Crucially, they were summing up the dominant outlooks in huge regions of the planet.
The most sympathetic view of the U.S. "war on terrorism" came from a senior manager with Ernst & Young Security and Integrity Services, based in the Netherlands. He said: "The Europeans are still somewhat confused about what the focus of the war is. They see a lack of clarity from the United States as to what the goals of this conflict are, as to what the strategy is, as to what the standards are that the U.S. applies, and as to what the controls are that the U.S. has placed on itself in waging this war."
By U.S. media standards, that's about the extent of mainstream critiques of the "war on terror." But outside the United States, that's about the mildest criticism you're likely to find.
Consider the assessment that aired on the radio program from Rohan Gunaratna, author of the widely praised book "Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror." Based in Singapore, he was principal investigator for the United Nations' Terrorism Prevention Branch.
In Asia, said Gunaratna, "the vast majority of the Muslims believe that President Bush's campaign against terrorism has in fact increased the threat of terrorism and extremism very significantly after 9/11. With regard to Iraq, what they're saying is that the terrorists have recruited more people, radicalized more people and raised funds from Muslims just by projecting U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq as an attack against Islam and as an attack against the Muslims."
(There is more.)
from CommonDreams
The USA's mass media constantly tell us how Americans see the "war on terror." But the same outlets rarely tell us much about how the rest of the world sees it.
Five years after 9/11, the gap between perceptions is enormous. Countless polls confirm the overall chasm. Yet, day to day, the media messages that surround us in the United States simply recycle American views for American viewers, listeners and readers.
But there are exceptions. A recent one aired on "PRI's The World," a co-production of Public Radio International, WGBH in Boston and the BBC World Service. "We decided to check in with people in different parts of the globe to get their perspectives on the White House's war on terror," the anchor said on the Sept. 5 broadcast.
And for the next six minutes, the American audience got an earful -- from four speakers who were not just expressing their own views. Crucially, they were summing up the dominant outlooks in huge regions of the planet.
The most sympathetic view of the U.S. "war on terrorism" came from a senior manager with Ernst & Young Security and Integrity Services, based in the Netherlands. He said: "The Europeans are still somewhat confused about what the focus of the war is. They see a lack of clarity from the United States as to what the goals of this conflict are, as to what the strategy is, as to what the standards are that the U.S. applies, and as to what the controls are that the U.S. has placed on itself in waging this war."
By U.S. media standards, that's about the extent of mainstream critiques of the "war on terror." But outside the United States, that's about the mildest criticism you're likely to find.
Consider the assessment that aired on the radio program from Rohan Gunaratna, author of the widely praised book "Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror." Based in Singapore, he was principal investigator for the United Nations' Terrorism Prevention Branch.
In Asia, said Gunaratna, "the vast majority of the Muslims believe that President Bush's campaign against terrorism has in fact increased the threat of terrorism and extremism very significantly after 9/11. With regard to Iraq, what they're saying is that the terrorists have recruited more people, radicalized more people and raised funds from Muslims just by projecting U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq as an attack against Islam and as an attack against the Muslims."
(There is more.)
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