Posted on 02/04/2015 6:54:04 AM PST by Texas Fossil
The following is a letter to the editor submitted by the (Egyptian) Embassy to the Washington Post regarding their editorial board’s recent commentary.
To the Editor,
The Post’s January 30 editorial entitled “A bleak anniversary in Egypt” is biased and insensitive, to say the least. Published barely hours after the terrorist attack that needlessly took the lives of over 30 of my countrymen, the editorial board fails to show even the slightest compassion for the plight of the victims’ families. The only mention of the attack was by way of laying the blame for the terrorists’ acts squarely on the Egyptian government. By this skewed logic, who should we say bears the blame for the Oklahoma or Boston bombings?
The Post’s coverage of the latest Paris attacks, by contrast, was extensive and balanced and yet the much wider carnage that Boko Haram committed in Nigeria received minimal coverage. Isn’t it legitimate for Egyptians and other Third World peoples to ask if The Post puts the same value on the lives of all human beings? Indeed, they have every right to wonder whether The Post and other like-minded Institutions consider us to be legitimate testing grounds for their geopolitical theories and social experiments.
Indeed, The Post has been consistent in toeing the Moslem Brotherhood line. Going beyond editorials and opinion pieces, bias has tainted every aspect of coverage. In August 2013, when Brotherhood supporters launched a coordinated campaign of attacks against police stations and Christian churches, The Post’s coverage brazenly suggested that the police were behind these attacks. The outlet also consistently promotes the polished English of Moslem Brotherhood propagandists, while muting attention to that organization’s Arabic messages, which drive extreme Islamist rhetoric and call for bloodshed, martyrdom and terror. Most recently, the official website of Egypt’s Moslem Brotherhood called in Arabic for its supporters to prepare for “relentless jihad where we ask for martyrdom” in Egypt.
The Post has gone out of its way to absolve the Moslem Brotherhood of their crimes. This is evidenced by its claim in the aforementioned editorial that “more than 20 protesters were killed by police.” The editorial conveniently neglected to mention that at least three of the dead were Moslem Brotherhood supporters who were killed when the bombs they were planting prematurely exploded, and that two were policemen killed by their ‘peaceful protestors.’ The investigation will show the number of Moslem Brotherhood supporters who lost their lives in these incidents and how many of the dead were their victims, or unfortunate bystanders who got caught in the crossfire.
This latest editorial’s greatest service to Moslem Brotherhood propaganda, however, came when it equated peaceful protestor Shaimaa al-Sabbagh with those terrorist bomb makers. Together with millions of Egyptians, I have mourned Shaimaa’s death. President Al Sisi has clearly stated that he thinks of her as his own daughter. A thorough independent investigation is underway to bring the perpetrators to justice. But to use this innocent woman’s death to whitewash the Moslem Brotherhood’s violence is inexcusable.
The Post has not been alone in propagating the illusion that the Moslem Brotherhood is “peaceful,” has “renounced violence,” and represents “moderate Islam,” rather than recognize the historically uncontested fact that it is the mother organization from which modern day violent jihad has sprung and that its main theorist, Sayyid Kutb, remains to this day a source of inspiration for terrorists around the world. History shows how a small number of Western academics and lobbyists succeeded in repackaging the Moslem Brotherhood and selling it to their elites as the panacea for curing radicalism, rather than the Trojan horse it really is.
President Al Sisi is leading the way—calling for a revolution in Islamic thought to deny extremists the opportunity to exploit it to their sinister ends. Leading by example, he became the first Egyptian leader to visit the Orthodox Cathedral in Abasseya to wish his Christian compatriots a merry Christmas. A conference organized by Al-Azhar late last year emphasized that confronting violent extremist ideology can only succeed if we draw on the rich heritage of tolerance that our peoples have practiced for centuries, rather than invent excuses for the Moslem Brotherhood.
The persistently flawed lens with which The Post misrepresents the words and actions of President Al Sisi is misguided and threatens the very goal of stamping out radicalism in the region.
I neither expect nor wish for The Post’s coverage of Egypt to be biased to our perspective. But I sincerely hope you will find the courage to revise your positions, not as a favor to Egypt, which will remain a great and confident nation no matter what you say, but to provide a more honest service to your readers and save whatever is left of your credibility in the Arab world.
Sincerely,
Mohamed Tawfik, Egyptian Ambassador to the United States
3521 International Court, NW.
Washington, DC 20008.
202-895-5400.
I have great respect for the new Egyptian leadership, they have a valid reason to be angry with news coverage relating to the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood and their actions dealing with Muslim Brotherhood Terrorism. And the Egyptian people are behind them.
WaPo is a propaganda vehicle for the people who control our government. Nothing more.
AND ... Obama’s Amonistration is actually working with and helping the Muslim Brotherhood to TAKE CONTROL of Egypt. Obama initially helped the Muslim Brotherhood gain control of Egypt and Obama was extremely critical when the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood President of Egypt was thrown out of office and imprisoned. Obama is actually working, right now, to get this TERRORIST ORGANIZATION back in control of Egypt (and the Muslim Brotherhood has been legally declared a terrorist group in Egypt!).
Progressives are motivated by a deep hatred of humanity. Underneath the veneer of compassion are ravening beasts. They automatically attack anything that is decent and promote anything that is evil. They try to hide the evil under a veil of PR, but all it is is PR. Destruction of civilization is the goal. No, it’s not rational. They aren’t.
Egypt’s fight, America’s apathy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3253942/posts
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt refuses to accept the verdict of the electorate and is trying, through brutal terrorism, to delegitimize President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Ever since the el-Sissi government’s democratic election, Egypt has been plagued by a wave of terror perpetrated by the Brotherhood against the country’s army and security forces in Egypt proper and the Sinai Peninsula, which has damaged the economy and infrastructure.
In his most recent speech at Al-Azhar University, on Jan. 1, el-Sissi tried conveying to the “sane” senior religious leaders a brave message about the need to fight terror, calling for introspection and for them to implement a “religious revolution” against terror. His call has gone unanswered.
Indeed, Egypt is fighting these days against Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the terrorist group that has renamed itself the “Sinai Province” and has sworn allegiance to Islamic State. Over the past several months, Sinai Province terrorists have inflicted considerable damage and casualties on the Egyptian army, in a series of car bombings and shooting attacks. Last Thursday night, the group carried out four separate attacks on security forces in northern Sinai, killing at least 30 soldiers and police officers.
Egyptian sources pointed a finger at Hamas and its armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, accusing the Gaza-based terrorist group of aiding Sinai Province in its violent campaign. Evidence of this aid can be found in intercepted messages between the groups. Consequently, Egypt over the weekend banned Hamas’ military wing, listing it as a terrorist organization. In light of the dozens of slain soldiers, el-Sissi called on his security forces in Sinai to avenge the blood of their fallen comrades, and said: “We are fighting a well-funded global terrorist organization. … I am not tying your hands to prevent you from taking retribution from the terrorists.” During the heartfelt speech, el-Sissi announced the establishment of a new headquarters, commanded by a general, charged with waging war on terror and retaking Sinai.
As per its custom, Al-Jazeera distorted his message. One of the network’s “analysts” argued that el-Sissi’s words constituted a call for vengeance and civil war, and that he has turned the Egyptian army into a jury and hangman.
In contrast, in an interview with the network, the editor-in-chief of the weekly Egyptian newspaper Al-Mashhad protested the consistent incitement by Al-Jazeera against Egypt. Al-Jazeera, meanwhile, continues to incite, provide Hamas with material aid, and exalt the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades as a role model via its documentaries and programs. Within this framework, Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades member Abdel Karim Al-Hanini, in his own series broadcast on Al-Jazeera, boasts of murdering Israeli civilians and soldiers, while instructing his audience, Palestinians and Muslim Brotherhood followers in Egypt alike, on how to build bombs.
Wow.
Well said!
The writer makes one logical error: He assumes the WaPo is merely "misguided", when he should at the very least consider the possibility that the WaPo is intentionally undermining efforts to stamp out radicalism.
WaPo = Propaganda vehicle? Indeed it is & more.
el Sisi has been totally consistent from the beginning, after they removed Morsi & MB Terrorists.
He stopped the murder of Christians and began rebuilding the destroyed Churches.
Egypt is unified under his leadership. Very little opposition. For a reason, he rescued Egypt from the same darkness and despotism that happened to Iran.
He is actively working with Israel on the Gaza strip and border issues. Cooperating in pursuit of the Terrorists. And in uncovering and destroying all the tunnels for smuggling weapons.
His military is killing the Terrorists.
Sounds like Jordan is now coming to that party too.
“Misguided” is diplomatic talk. It did come from their Embassy ... :-) ...
You’re not going to get the kind of language you’re talking about from an Embassy.
Good point.
I’d like to buy the guy a beer and get him to tell me what he REALLY thinks.
I was 35 years old before I even knew that there was “bias in the media,” and over 65 when I finally got a really satisfactory understanding of your “why” question.In my opinion there is no need to look for proof that the Washington Post or any other journalistic institution has been bought. They all joined the Borg when they signed up with the AP. Note that my analysis actually does not depend on the fact that the AP is dominant in the US, because even if there were five big wire services with similar market shares, each one of them would consist of a bunch of journalists - and would, on that account, have the same ideological incentives and lead to the same result.
- We speak of “the media” as a single entity, even though there are very many news outlets. The first question, then, is, “Why do journalists act in a politically monopolistic fashion?” And it turns out the Adam Smith nailed that 3/4 of a century before the cause of the problem even arose:
People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings, by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty and justice. But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies; much less to render them necessary. - Adam Smith, Wealth of NationsIf the “people of the same trade” happen to be journalists, they would be entirely immune from any effort to prevent them from “meeting together.” Because, after all, they can read each others’ stuff. But that was the case all along; it just happens that something happened in the 1840s to transform journalists’ “meetings" and metastasize them. It was the telegraph. Samuel Morse’s famous demonstration line between Baltimore and Washington was demonstrated in 1844, and by 1848 the precursor to the Associated Press was founded. And the AP “wire” is nothing other than a full-blown, continuous virtual meeting of all major journalists which has been going on since memory of living man runneth not to the contrary.So Adam Smith’s dictum about monopoly behavior predicts flatly that journalists must be conspiring against the public by now - and indeed, must have begun doing so long before you or I were even born.
- But the second question is, “Why does that ‘conspiracy’ run against conservatives? What is their game?” My answer to that question is best illustrated by Theodore Roosevelt’s “man in the arena” speech. The applicable, famous part of which begins, “It is not the critic who counts . . . the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .” IMHO things fall into place when you realize that “the man in the arena” is anyone who works to a bottom line, and stands or falls on his own merit. And the critic? First and foremost among the critics (who are legion) are journalists. The journalist lusts for credit for holding everyone “in the arena” to a high standard. And anyone else who criticizes and second guesses the man in the arena is helpful to the journalist. If you ask, “What is the very opposite of giving credit to the man in the arena?” would it not be arbitrarily dismissing the man in the arena’s claim to credit? I say it is. And I say that there is a very current and very pithy statement of that perspective. I refer to, “You didn’t build that.”
ProgressingAmerica takes the approach of looking for individuals who actively and consciously plotted the “progressive” coup of journalists against the public; his thesis can be found here:
Government by Journalism - The Road to America
Thank you for the analysis.
I already knew most of it, but had never put the conclusion in place.
The problem we face is much bigger than a single industry. Partially because of the interaction between government and the media, and partially because of the convergence of some global associations.
I’m convinced we witness the convergence of the Godless Left, Global Fascists and Islamists against Christians, Jews and Freedom Lovers. The first 3 all admit to desire to rule the world, each thinks they will ultimately overcome the other 2. Ultimately none of them will, God will eventually prevail over all.
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