Glenn Greenwald: A real discussion on TV regarding U.S. policy towards Israel

[laststeamtrain]

Glenn Greenwald
Friday Jan. 16, 2009 05:16 EST
A real discussion on TV regarding U.S. policy towards Israel

According to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli President Shimon Peres spoke to an AIPAC mission in Israel on Wednesday and said that "Israel's aim was to provide a strong blow to the people of Gaza so that they would lose their appetite for shooting at Israel." If (as Tom Friedman suggested) that really is Israel's principal aim -- to deal "a strong blow to the people of Gaza" -- then it's easy to understand why Peres is so happy with how things have proceeded: "Implementation of the current operation had gone 90 percent according to plan, he said."

Prior commitments prevent me from writing much until later this afternoon, so I wanted to post the two-part video of a shockingly balanced, candid and informed discussion of the Israeli war in Gaza and of the U.S.'s self-destructively one-sided policy towards Israel that actually took place yesterday on a major American television outlet yesterday. Numerous people emailed and commented about this segment, which was part of MSNBC's Morning Joe show .

The commentary from Jordan's Queen Noor, in particular, is extremely insightful and articulate, virtually never heard (as the participants note) on American television, and underscores how unbalanced and incomplete is the debate most Americans hear concerning this issue of vital importance to American intersts (i.e.: virtually unquestioning American support for Israeli actions). Bill Moyers apparently received among the most intensely angry response that he has ever received as a result of his quite balanced criticism last week of Israel's war in Gaza -- including a written "rebuke" from the Anti-Defamation League's Abe Foxman that disgustingly accused Moyers of "anti-Semitism"-- and Moyers intends to respond on his PBS show tonight.

Perhaps it takes a highly-telegenic, American-born Jordanian monarch for America's cable networks to include these views, though it does seem, for a variety of reasons, that the taboo against discussing these matters is eroding slowly though substantially:...

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http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/01/16/noor/index.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. It is about time that we have balanced news in this nation

Perhaps, with the blossoming of the Internet news services, the US news outlets (at least MSNBC; won't hold my breath for the Big Three to do so)are realizing they are losing credibility and viewers.

[Larkspur]

2. Excellent discussion

Queen Noor is quite a beauty and did a terrific job of explaining why the Palestinians keep firing rockets. as long as Israeli oppression is set to strangle the Palestinians, Israel is giving a green light for the extremists to attack.

I'm looking forward to Bill Moyer's segment tonight. He's going to respond to charges of anti-Semitism about his piece on Gaza last week. AIPAC not only trys to enslave our politicians, it also works hard to branwash our media. Thank Goddess there are some like Bill Moyers who have the courage to withstand this and demand that our country be even handed in dealing with Israel and the Palestinians.

[olegramps]

3. The lack of objective reporting is a major problem.

The boot licking press allowed Bush to launch an unjustified war, illegally wire tap Americans, engage in torture and conduct illegal confinements to mention only a few. The list of Bush and Cheney's crimes is nearly beyond comprehension and the silence of the press deafening.

The American press has failed the people. The keystone of maintaining a democratic society is a free unhindered press that has a duty to keep the citizens properly informed. When the news media becomes as compromised as it has during this administration the result is little different than any despotic dictatorship that is allowed to conduct its crimes unchallenged. The arrogance of this administration is beyond the pale and fully reflected in the sneering condescension of the entire Bush-Cheney administration that has not been called to account for it gross failures and outright deceptions.