The demise of the Wall Street Journal
By Dennis Jett
Created May 14 2008 - 10:38am
When Rupert Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal many feared for the
fate
of the paper. It was well known for the excellence of its re****ting and
the
lunacy of its far right editorial page. As my article from the Anniston
Star
indicates, Murdoch may have now dismantled the firewall between the two
and
the re****ting seems to have sunk to the low level of the editorial
writers.
Journalism and smear tactics
By Dennis Jett
Special to The Anniston Star
05-14-2008
Would a serious newspaper accuse someone of sup****ting terrorism simply
because the paper does not like the person's politics? In the case of The
Wall Street Journal, the answer appears to be yes.
In a column on April 28, a Journal correspondent, Mary Anastasia O'Grady,
described a recent controversy regarding the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary
Movement (MRTA). The MRTA, along with another group, Sendero Luminoso, are
terrorist organizations that plagued Peru during the 1980s and 1990s. A
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, after a two-year investigation,
issued
a re****t in 2003 noting that Sendero was responsible for 54 percent of an
estimated 69,280 murders and the MRTA for about 2 percent. Security forces
were found to be responsible for the remainder. Given that death toll, it
is
easy to understand why terrorism is still a sensitive subject in Peru.
The controversy erupted when the European Union was considering adding the
MRTA to its list of terrorist organizations. The EU began the list after
the
9/11 attacks as a way to strengthen international efforts to combat
terrorism; it always included Sendero. The Peruvian government and some
members of the Peruvian congress reacted vociferously when a local
human-rights organization sent a letter to the EU suggesting the MRTA not
be
included. The group, the Pro-Human Rights Association or APRODEH, was
accused of treason, defending terrorists and insulting the armed forces.
O'Grady described the European action as taking the MRTA off the list,
even
though it was never on it and called the decision "maddening." She added
that it was instructive since it shows how "terrorists can advance their
cause with the help of nongovernmental organizations" that are often
funded
by "foreign government and philanthropists."
She went on to talk about Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's president, and the
activities of the Bolivarian Movement he funds and its possible
connections
to terrorism. She then circled back to APRODEH, noting that it received
funding from George Soros's Open Society and the U.S. Government. She
concluded that the work of foreign-funded NGOs like APRODEH "in the
interest
of terrorist organizations warrants urgent attention." The article
helpfully
included a picture of Soros just to make the connection clear.
A couple of other points should also be made clear. First, the MRTA is a
terrorist organization. I am well aware of that since I came within half
an
hour of being taken hostage by them. Nine of my staff at the U.S. Embassy
in
Lima - and five of their wives - who attended the reception at the
Japanese
ambassador's residence in December 1996 and did not leave early were not
as
lucky. Second, Chavez does sup****t terrorism. The laptop recovered by
Columbian authorities when they raided a base in Ecuador of the FARC
terrorist group clearly demonstrated that. Chavez, thanks in no small part
due to our oil gluttony, has hundreds of millions of dollars to pass out.
He
is not particular where he buys his friends.
That said, APRODEH and other Peruvian human-rights NGOs do not sup****t
terrorism. In APRODEH's letter to the EU, the organization stated
explicitly
that it has always "rejected and condemned acts of terror by groups like
Sendero and the MRTA." It pointed out however there had not been any MRTA
activity in more than eight years and it was therefore pointless to put it
on the list.
APRODEH is not the only one to note the inactivity of the MRTA. Last
year's
re****t on terrorism put out by the State Department points out: "The MRTA
has not conducted a significant terrorist attack since the December 1996
hostage taking at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima." The State
Department also maintains a list of terrorist organizations, and it
removed
the MRTA from that list in October 2001 - a point in time at which the USG
was not exactly insensitive to the threat of terrorism.
The only source quoted by O'Grady to sup****t her charges was Rolando
Sousa.
She neglected to explain that Sousa belongs to the political party of
Alberto Fujimori, the disgraced former president who fled the country and
faxed in his resignation in 2000. He also is on trial in Peru on multiple
counts of human-rights abuse, corruption and other charges.
During the Fujimori regime, APRODEH and other organizations bravely
defended
human rights and were subjected to a constant stream of criticism and
threats from the far right. They now see that on the rise again. So is
O'Grady's encouragement of those threats the result of sloppy journalism
or
is it simply an attempt by the Journal to smear Soros because they don't
like his politics?
Dennis Jett served as ambassador in Peru and Mozambique and on the
National
Security Council. His book, "Why American Foreign Policy Fails," has been
published this month by Palgrave Macmillan.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues.
I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an op****tunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are
at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
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