Media bias in the USA [Archives:2003/635/Letters to the Editor]

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May 12 2003

Brian King
Ontario, Canada
[email protected]

The letter from Millie Puddy published some time ago on media bias needs a response.
First, I am Canadian. Officially, our government opposed the invasion of Iraq, stating Canada would only join a United Nations sponsored invasion. For this I am grateful. So far, our punishment from the Bush administration has only been that a visit in May from President Bush has been canceled. Personally, I don't consider that punishment, but a reward instead.
As to media bias in the United States, it is prevalent. Most of the actual news on the invasion of Iraq for United States citizens was from embedded reporters who saw only what was happening in the unit they were assigned to, and that was from the military viewpoint. None of those nasty dead civilians in Baghdad to report about. Seldom did the United States media, in Pentagon and other briefings, question the 'official' response to the U.S. bombing of the two markets in Baghdad, killing nearly one hundred innocent civilians. There had been little or no negative reports on U.S. media about Iraqis seeing the United States as invaders and occupiers until the end of the war. The Bush administration is determined to continue the horrible interventionist foreign policy decisions which led to the tragedy of 9/11. Democracy cannot be imposed, as Bush is trying to do in Iraq. The United States, in all its attempts to 'democratize' countries, has not been successful, ever! Rather than look inward and change course accordingly, Bush is going to force a government of his choosing on Iraq. His chosen Iraqi leader is a convicted embezzler, wanted in Jordan for embezzling two hundred million dollars. There has been nothing in the United States media on that.
It saddens me that our good friend and neighbor to the south continues on such a path. We can only hope that one day soon they will change their ways in order to bring about true peace in the Middle East.
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