Kowabunga

When I ran across the commentary piece, Selective Outrage on the LA Times website, I thought it would prove to be an expose on how main stream media has botched it again, in response to the recently retracted Newsweek hit piece on our military in regards to the alleged flushing of a Koran down the toilet. The Newsweek piece was retracted as it had been proven that this incident never happened.

I was proven wrong about the piece. It turned out to be yet another example of main stream media elites banding together to protect their own, and blame America and our military in the process.

From the aforementioned editorial:

According to chaos theory, the flapping of a single butterfly's wings can trigger a hurricane halfway across the globe, a phenomenon known as the "butterfly effect." Now the Bush administration thinks it has detected something that might be called the "Newsweek effect." It says the magazine's publication of an item in its May 9 issue, alleging that U.S. guards flushed the Koran down a toilet in order to humiliate prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, was a cause of riots in Afghanistan and Pakistan last week that left at least 14 people dead.

Let's see, Newsweek publishes a report alleging that our military desecrated a Koran by flushing it down a toilet, and the riots in Afghanistan and Pakistan that erupted in direct response to that article's false allegations is, according to the LA Times, unrelated. Despite the fact that all reports on the riots have stated that they were due to the erroneous, and ra^ther wrong article published by Newsweek on May 9th. From International Herald Tribune

The Afghan authorities, U.S. military and residents said outside instigators seemed to be stirring up the violence and taking advantage of student and public protests over reports that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at the Guant�amo Bay detention center for Taliban suspects. Student demonstrators were demanding that the U.S. interrogators who are alleged to have placed copies of the Koran in the toilet to upset detainees, and in one case reportedly flushed the holy book down the toilet, be arrested and tried by a Muslim court.

And also, this off of Yahoo News/Reuters:

Afghan police opened fire on protesters on Wednesday killing four and wounding dozens after violent demonstrations over a report that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had desecrated the Koran.

Let's see if I have my facts straight: Newsweek publishes a falsified account (later retracted) of a Koran being flushed down the toilet; riots erupt in Middle-East as a direct response to the article published by Newsweek; people are killed during the riots caused by the Newsweek article. Yet, according to the LA Times, it's America's (or more accurately in the eyes of the press, Bush's) fault. Maybe they should suggest that the president change his name to San Andreas, then at least he would have a fault. Back to the LA Times piece:

The more interesting question may not be how Newsweek goofed, but why the Muslim world is so ready to believe the story. For all the administration's huffing and puffing about Newsweek getting the story wrong, it has produced such a catalog of misdeeds at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo that almost any allegation is instantly credited abroad. The administration itself has said that 11 soldiers have been disciplined for abusing prisoners at Gitmo.

Okay, let's face it, there are many people in the Middle East that hate us, and will jump on any excuse to celebrate attacks against our country and people, as seen throughout that region on 9/11/2001, and riot in response to any alleged outrage, even when proven false. Why they would believe the falsely made allegations that Newsweek published is a no brainer: THEY HATE America! A better question would be is why are the leftist-leaning main-stream media outlets so ready to believe the allegations that Newsweek published in the first place? Oh, wait, I know, see the answer to the preceding question. Selective Outrage: The mainstream media, whether it's represented by Newsweek, the LA Times or CBS are all suffering "selective outrage." If America or the Bush Administration can in anyway be blamed, so shall they blame. It's never the fault of the rioters; it's never the fault of terrorist thugs who continue to operate inside of Iraq, murdering civilians and soldiers alike, not to mention the many attacks on patriotic Iraqis who want nothing more than to rebuild their country; it's certainly not the fault of journalists who twist the facts, or make things up (like soldiers flushing a Koran down a toilet) to sell a story. Naw! They'd ra^ther blame Bush and America.

The LA times piece closes with a push to shut down the prison at Guantanamo, giving the prisoners legal protections. The LA Times may be naive enough to believe that this will help the U.S. where world opinion is concerned.

Okay, if these prisoners are to stand trial, separate them into two groups: those from the Afghan War and those form the Iraq War, and try them in those countries respectively. They'll find that they wished they had stayed in Guantanamo.

No doubt that if that were to happen, they would find the means to blame Bush for that as well.

Incredibly, they have yet to show any outrage towards their favorite heroes, Clinton and Carter, for giving the world a nuclear armed North Korea.

For another look at this piece, check out the Anti-Strib's take on the subject.