The following was submitted by a reader attempting to get the New York Times submtitting the Italien TV show about chemicals weapons used in Fallujah.
It is very obvious that this alleged reporter viewed only a minute of the video, then dismissed it as "about Vietnam", then when called on his or her mistake, got defensive.
This is an object lesson as to just what sort of mentality one finds at the corporate media these days.
Watched the video--- disgusted, appalled, ashamed. Still shaking with anger and sheer frustration.
I've gone ahead and written to the media, insisting that they talk about this. Funnily/sadly/pathetically enough, someone at the NY Times' Executive Editor's Desk (I wonder if it's the same one who whizzed off an immature screed a few months ago when I wrote about the Downing Street Memo) has chosen to respond, albeit tersely and not particularly effectively. The following is our "dialogue" so far. It really doesn't paint a pretty picture of the Times:
Editors:
Knowing that you are currently receiving many, many more emails just like this one, I will keep this correspondence brief, since any elaboration on my part would surely only repeat the same points everyone else is making on the subject.
I am writing about that major taboo topic in American discourse, until now: What we did in Fallujah.
Certainly by now you are well aware of the Italian documentary--- circulating on the web and being viewed by millions here and abroad--- chronicling the American war crimes in Fallujjah, planned well in advance of the November election but held off until immediately after Bush was handed the Presidency. White phosphorus--- a chemical weapon no different from napalm in its lethality--- was massively dropped on the people of Fallujah, killing them in the most excruciating manner I could imagine. This was a massacre, case closed.
The independent and foreign press and the blogging community had long ago reported that America had committed major war crimes in Fallujah, but not until now has the world been able to see as clearly the level of pure evil done during those days. Still, here in this country I have yet to see any acknowledgment of these newly-revealed facts in the mainstream media. The bloggers and the independent press are keeping this story up front where everybody can see it; when will the Times be joining in, I wonder.
So far, there has been nothing.
Certainly you are well aware of the video, and probably have already seen it. Just in case you need to see it again to remind yourselves of how you are failing this country with your silence, I have provided a link to the documentary.
The world already knows, whether you look the other way or not.
The first few minutes are of Vietnam, the remainder is of Iraq. The makers of the documentary wished to make the point that America is doing the same thing over again, and thus included the Vietnam footage at the beginning.
They also were assuming that their viewers had a long enough attention span to be able to figure this out for themselves. Not too much to assume, really--- everyone else, particularly in the blogosphere and the independent press, figured it out without my help.
Skip ahead in the video by two or three minutes to get to the beginning of the Iraq footage, if you can't wait.
Shall I assume that your response is indicative of how the Times handles research and investigative reporting?
NY TIMES-
You can assume nothing- except that I have picked up your internet message.
- Show quoted text -
ME-
Such an assumption on my part was easy to make, and beyond that, a rather fair one, based on your initial response. You watched, most likely, three minutes of the video and then assumed the video was devoted entirely to Vietnam, rather than sticking it out to see where it would go next. Otherwise, I would not have received such a response in the first place.
I highly doubt that either you or myself exist in a vacuum; surely by now you and your colleagues have more than passing familiarity with the contents of this video, regardless of whether you have actually gone ahead and watched the entire thing or not. Thousands and thousands of folks have seen this video and are
disgusted--- certainly this correspondence is not your first introduction to a subject which is rapidly becoming huge news around the globe.
