The Gothic Times

Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: Opinion

NYTimes.com

As Americans, we would like to think that we have learned from our experiences in Iraq, lest we repeat them. Prior to invasion we were convinced en masse that there were weapons of mass destruction to be found, that Saddam Hussein was an immediate threat to our homeland security and that a Western-friendly Iraqi government would be the keystone to our War on Terror in the Middle East. It was only after shock, awe and a protracted period of bloody occupation that we discovered that what we had been led to believe was untrue. But that kind of thing will not happen to us again, correct?

We would like to think that if we were again going to send thousands of troops and billions of dollars into military operations overseas it would only be after open public discourse on the topic, scrutiny of the military by the media and after real, tangible support from the international community. So then why, as President Obama authorizes another $83 billion for operations in Afghanistan and plans to send 30,000 more troops to the country despite getting little other than verbal support on his recent trip through Europe are we standing by unquestioningly, assuming that he and our generals know best?

Much of the blame falls on the shoulders of America's establishment, mainstream news media who, in a repeat performance of their cheerleader role during the Iraqi invasion, are silently complicit regarding military escalation in Afghanistan. In her excellent 2003 documentary Independent Media in a Time of War, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! radio asked "if this were state-run media, how would it be any different?" That question is, sadly, just as pertinent in 2009. A recent poll conducted by CNN showed that 51 percent of Americans oppose the war in Afghanistan-but that same network, with the knowledge that over half of their audience thinks that the war itself is a mistake, continues to focus their coverage almost exclusively on how the war is being fought, not the more pressing issue of whether it should be fought at all. Instead of a steady stream of military analysts on MSNBC, Fox and CNN to break down the combat efficacy of unmanned drones, why not have a peace activist on to discuss alternative paths to stability in Afghanistan or to debate those military analysts on the soundness of war as an instrument of policy in general? As CNN's own poll shows, this is a debate that is happening in homes around the country, but is conspicuously absent from our newspapers and television news programs.

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