Rumsfeld: German Iraq Reporting "More Biased" Than Al Jazeera (Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer!)

Deutsche Welle ^ | February 6. 2004 | Unattributed

[quidnunc]

U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has criticized Germany’s television reporting on Iraq as being "more biased than (Arabic television station) Al Jazeera," according to the AFP news agency. Speaking to journalists on the eve of a security conference in Munich, Rumsfeld said a survey in one Western European country — which U.S. officials later said was Germany — was showing unfair bias against Washington. If this is true, Rumsfeld said "then it surprises no one that if one is constantly bombarded with inaccuracies, after a while you begin to believe them." Rumsfeld was allegedly informed of the survey on Iraq reporting after his arrival in Munich by U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Daniel Coats.

[quidnunc]

Herr Goebbels taught the Deutsche volk well.

[Pubbie]

I can't speak on the German press since I don't speak German.

However, I read British newspapers online everyday in order to keep up with News in Eastern Europe, and I can tell you that even the allegedly "Conservative papers" in Britain like the London Spectator are extremely Anti-American.

They are even worse in distortions and blatant hatred of the US than Al Jazeera is.

[george wythe]

Tell it like it is, Rummy. You already have introduced at least a Neue Weltordnung [neologism] to the German language like Altes Europa: [Old Europe]

Now, you're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe. [Das ist altes Europa]

[blanknoone]

In all fairness to al Jazeera's bias, they one down their anti-Americanism substantially in the English language versions. In Arabic, its worse.

[Jackson Brown]

I can tell you that even the allegedly "Conservative papers" in Britain like the London Spectator are extremely Anti-American.

I think a good part of this can be attributed to the UK conservative politicians (who are calling for Blair resignation because of Iraq) -- and the Spectator as their voice -- trying to hurt Blair.

[Pubbie]

"UK conservative politicians"

There are no Conservative UK politicians.

The Tories have now completely dropped tax-cuts as a major party platform.

Most UK Tories are literally to the left of George Pataki.

[RobbyS]

Read the Telegraph.

[narby]

I visted Berlin recently, and decided to visit the US Embassy. I got to within a 100 meters of it, and the street was blockaded. They had all streets within a block of it blocked, and machine gun carrying cops on all approaches.

At the Embassy, there was a block wall, right in the middle of the closed street, many feet away from the building all around, and a high, dense, steel fence on top of it.

The security building where everyone had to go through to get to the embassy was separated at the wall.

I asked the cops if I could take a picture.

Nein!

I didn't go in.

[Michael81Dus]

What do you want us to tell with that? That American and Jewish buildings are threatened by terrorists in particular, and that Germany protects these institutions? Believe me, these high security level wasn´t before September 11.

[longjack]

When I was monitoring German web sites during the build up to and the execution of OIF I felt the reporting highlighted the minor successes of the Iraqis (e.g., the 4 or 5 days of the supply line ambushes as the coalition made the dash to Baghdad), sort of like, to use a sport analogy, rooting for the underdog.

An incident that stills stands out for me was one of the earlier suicide attacks when a car with a pregnant woman exploded at a road block. All the German sites I looked at, except CNN, did not report that one of the occupants of the suicide vehicle was pregnant. The woman being pregnant changed the dynamic of the incident from a probable voluntary attack to one that was probably forced upon the occupants at gunpoint by a 3rd party, I thought. I considered that to be a grave omission by the media.

BTW, Schroeder stepped down today as majority leader. He can't keep his flock together. His SPD has slipped to 24%, and state elections are looming. This is the 'beginning of the end' says one report I've read.

About this time last year Fischer hopped on Rummy in a Munich event similar to this. Looks like Rummy's not cutting Gerhard and Joschka any slack. Good timing by Rummy. Payback's a b***h.

Let's see if Gerhard and Joschka go postal on the US now. Gerhard needs the upcoming trip to Washington to look like a player.

longjack

[Jabba the Nutt]

You don't have to be able to read German to follow the bias in the German media, just go to David's Medienkritik (http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/) for the latest. Sorry, I've forgotten how to post links.

[longjack]

Davids Medienkritik

longjack

[Pubbie]

I certainly hope this is the beginning of the end for Schroder.

[Red6]

I argued this with a German before and found I was beating my head against a wall. But remember.

ARD
ZDF
HR3
SWF
DW
Bayern3

and many many more TV and radio channels are ALL government OWNED! When the state decides to go a certain direction in politics there may be some limited side bar critisism but the mass media will tow the party line. An Information Operations campaign is much easier and more coordinated in such a state. Even FOX, which is viewed by the German as right wing and somehow in a plot with the US government, is a private news agency. CNN, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS are not paid for with tax revenues and don't have government employees who can get their chain jerked by a government stooge.

Germany played a really nasty game during the war. Schroeder politically capitalized on the pacafist vote to get him elected and gambled that nothing would happen. After all, we did build up 2 times since 1991 and nothing happened. He marginally got elected but his red green coalition would have serious problems if he tried to OPENLY backpeddle now. So most of the deals are brokered behind closed doors. Germany is the 3rd biggest donnor nation in Iraq already. Under the table they're playing ball. But I think the US is pissed and and not satisfied with a "saving face" appraoch.

But for many in the public and in the media a line was drawn. Though self defined and needlessly nor in ones own economic or security self interest they took a position they find hard backing out from. Especially with the anti American under tones in that society today. Combine this with a left and more critical view of the US since the fall of the wall (20,000,000) DDR folks and some inferiority complexes you end up with a situation where a historically conservative and somewhat pragmatic rational nation acts in an emotional outburst that is counterproductive to their own interests.

What's dangerus here though is that Germany has shown itself as an unreliable ally. A nation where there are no holds barred. Issues such as the stationing of the Pershing 2 in Germany were taboo topics and not politicized even though they could have been since there was a BIG anti nuke movement even in the US. Germany has opened pandoras box and made everything fair game. Even other nations security issues.

But in the long run they did nothing other than screw themselves. Though they as usual blame everyone else for their problems. they have ultimately weakend their position in the UN (in the long run). Weakend NATO as a whole. Caused the withdraw of US forces from Germany (will be downplayed so the knife fighting stops). Created a fracture within the EU. And largely marginalized themselves in having any say in the mideast as a whole. Even though they are the ones that are dependant on the oil from there and conducted larger scale trade with several mideast countries including Iraq. But the German sees this as their great stand against the US "We are somebody!". The WMD, reginal threat from the regime of Saddam, US military expenditures, terrorism, violations of the armastice, UN mandates, human rights....... are all over looked and downplayed. Now the media has its one target WMD and the German feels a justification in their position when the US has a set back there. Even if they are economically dependant from trade with the US, a failure there and destabilization would hurt them as much as it would the US. A very macabre situation brought about by the personal ambitions of a single political party and a politician who's willing to do ANYTHING to get reallected. But hey "They're somebody :)", yes most Americans now know where Germany is on a map.

Red6

[Red6]

This is a positive thing though. We are responsible for the security of the German embassy in the US and even the German forces in Holoman, Bliss and Rucker. They are actually doing their job by not allowing pictures to be taken. We would do the same. If there were credible threats against the Germans we'd start upping the force protection measures.

Red6