The Russians see this as the equivalent of their running propaganda interviews with Bin Laden — an insult. It will be intereting to see how far this goes. The thinking in Russia is that Americans are supposed to be fighting a war on terror, not giving terrorists free air time.
The scandal over the interview with warlord Shamil Basayev broadcast by ABC developed at the weekend. The Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov said all journalists of ABC had been stripped of the accreditation with the Russian Defense Ministry and called the television channel persona non grata and “outlaw”. Ivanov’s indignation was not softened even by the veiled apology of US State Dept. spokesman Sean McCormack. The Russian Foreign Ministry, however, would not follow the example of the Defense Ministry.
Given the times, it seems like a pretty stupid thing for ABC to do. If they did it with Bin Laden, you can be sure there would be congressional testimony and that heads would roll.
I’m not sure what my view is on the subject.
My first reaction is this is fine to do…. Then I realized I was a hypocrite.
If a Palestinian blows himself up on a street corner, killing several Israelis, then he is a terrorist. If an Israeli helicopter shoots a missile into a street corner, killing several Palestinians, then are they not also terrorists? For some reason most Americans see a difference. But to the dead, and how they died, there is no difference.
One fear when the US Government started its War on Terror was that the repression of subjugated peoples fighting for freedom would wither. In order to gain allies against the Taliban and Afghanistan, the US would no longer be sympathetic to disenfranchised groups in Chechnya, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Somalia, Indonesia, and many other countries. Countries that ruled these “dissidents” could continue their often extreme brutal repressions.
The Russian government has denied journalists into Chechnya. Reports of mass killings by the Russian soldiers have come out though. This brutal repression of the Chechnyas has not garnered much publicity since 9/11. The only time the West hears anything of this problem is when Chechnians take their war into a Russian theater and elementary school.
Is Shamil Basayev a Warlord? I really don’t know. I do understand that the very fact that he is being persecuted and is fighting back against his oppressors makes him a terrorist in the Administration’s mind set. If, however, this was 230 years ago and he was fighting against the oppression of the British Crown in the Americas, he would be a hero and patriot. I guess that terrorism and patriotism depend on who wins the war and writes the history books. I’m sure it doesn’t depend on how vicious you are.
I enjoy the implication that other governments control their media, so they assume we (the USA) control ours:
Shamil Basayev’s interview with ABC came as a bitter surprise for American diplomats. “We found ourselves in an awkward situation: we will have to explain again that we cannot influence independent mass media,” the source says.
Why is it so important that we only hear the (any) govenrment’s side of the issue? Why is it dangerous to hear what the “other side” has to say?
Or is the Russian military just embarrassed that they can’t find him, but ABC can? 🙂
Anywho, I find my President’s recent comments on Intelligent Design to be at odds with offficial reaction to this interview:
“I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought,” Mr Bush said in comments to five Texas newspapers on Monday. “You’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes.”
The US has ended it’s War on Terrorism and is instead fighting a global struggle against violent extremism. Get with the times, already.