Posted on 09/28/2006 1:07:33 PM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
September 28, 2006 - 15:37
With one of his inimitable montages, Rush Limbaugh documented today the way in which the MSM got hung up on a handshake - one that apparently didn't come off between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf during their recent White House visit.
The media tea-leaf readers apparently imbue The Handshake That Didn't Happen with dire implications for the achievement of US goals in the region. Ironically, on the very same day, the MSM has yet to report on a major, positive development in the region that should bring a smile to the lips of even a Nancy Pelosi or a New York Times editorialist - were they not solemnly sworn to ac-cen-tu-ate the negative from now till Election Day.
Here's the story, as contained in a bulletin from the American Forces Information Service:
"Defense ministers meeting in Portoroz, Slovenia, have approved the expansion of responsibility for the alliance's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan to include the eastern portion of the country. ISAF already exercises opertional control in the country's other three regions."
A senior Pentagon source has shared with me the following take on this development:
* The U.S. will remain the largest troop contributor to the overall security mission in Afghanistan, continuing to provide all the air support, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. * US troop numbers will fluctuate in response to conditions and requirements, as they have done since operations began. However, the NATO takeover "certainly sets the stage" for the possibility of US troop reductions in the future. * This should be a seamless transition.
On a day when the MSM would rather focus on an elusive pressing of the flesh, the Defense Department has notched a significant achievement with a major extension of allied responsibility in the fight against terror in Afghanistan.
Finkelstein lives in the liberal haven of Ithaca, NY. View webcasts of Mark's award-winning TV show 'Right Angle' here. Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
NewsBusters hung-up-on-handshake ping to Today show list.
What I didn't hear Rush mention was whether or not this is a multiculti lapse for the media. Is a handshake even common in their shared cultures? Is the MSM making a mistake by expecting them to comport to Western norms?
As Rush said today...BJ Clinton shook Monica's hand but still wound up screwing her over anyway.
I believe Tony Snow commented that both leaders shook hands earlier than when the MSM was looking for it.
The MSM is complicit in undermining the WOT and thereby our national security.
Thanks for the link to the related thread. I've run a Google search and as far as I can tell my NewsBusters piece was the first item on the news in the US media.
the real news is Musharraf/Pakistan ain't gonna mess with the Jihad no more......or even allow the illusion that it does or has.....
The MSM also reported today that the GDP numbers were anemic! The expected 2.6 turned out to be a 2.3% increase...before adjustment.
The market enjoyed the numbers as a sign that the anticipated soft landing was a reality, and there is nothing but good economic news.....
Yet ABC called the number anemic.....yaddayadda.....Lower gas prices a sign that inflation is coming, and record jobs numbers, a Burger King economy.
I recall a 2.3 would have been a boom quarter during the Clinton years, when everything was so wonderful!
The MSM agenda is so visible, it is laughable. They make me ill.........
You're welcome. I heard Limbaugh's montage this morning. He deserves a medal for exposing the MSM for what it is in such an undeniable way. They're like automatons with libspeak software in them.
Prices going down will cause prices to go up!! Woe is us!!
Isn't there a cultural thing working here? I seem to remember that in many Muslim countries it is a gross insult to offer your right hand to another person. Something to do with toilet hygeine.
They may go along with Western customs with a Westerner, but probably not with another Muslim.
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