Posted on 08/08/2005 9:36:03 AM PDT by goldstategop
Jihadi Journalist: The Real Peter Jennings
By Debbie Schlussel
While the rest of the world is blindly singing the praises of Peter Jennings, here's a reality check: Peter Jennings did more for the cause of Islamic terrorism than any media figure today. And that's nothing to celebrate, honor, or even memorialize.
Before there was Al Jazeerah, there was Peter Jennings.
From the beginning of Jennings career until his death, Jennings' biased coverage went beyond the pale, bending over backward in "understanding" the terrorists who hate us-- from seeing "their side" when he covered the seige and then murder of innocent Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics to honoring an Al-Qaeda operative with a prized "commentator" spot during Jennings coverage of the 9/11 attacks.
Throughout Jennings' coverage of the attacks, he frequently featured a man named Tariq Hamdi (whose commentary urged understanding for the radical Muslim world), identifying Hamdi only as "journalist" on the chyron.
But, in fact, Jennings' friend Hamdi was no journalist at all. As I've written, Hamdi was an alleged Bin Laden Associate and employed by Islamic Jihad's U.S. frontman, Sami Al-Arian.
According to prosecutors and documents in the 1998 trial of the Bin-Laden bombings of U.S. Embassies in Africa (the 7th anniversary of which was yesterday), Hamdi provided Bin Laden a battery instrumental in those bombings. He's also an unindicted co-conspirator with Islamic Jihad frontman Sami Al-Arian, who employed him at his Islamic "charity" fronts at the University of South Florida. Hamdi was also an employee of a Saudi-funded charity raided by Customs agents for allegedly laundering billions to Qaeda through the Isle of Man.
This is the type of "journalist" and "commentator" Jennings frequently employed in his so-called newscast of which he was an all-controlling editor.
I always say, pillow talk is the most effective form of political speech. And it apparently had its effect on Jennings early on. When developing and heading up ABC's Beirut headquarters, Jennings dated (euphemism) Palestinian "beauty" Hanan Ashrawi. And it colored his vitriolic, anti-American, anti-Israel coverage ever since.
Then there were the sneers, the sneers of a Canadian high school drop-out for anything conservative, anything mainstream, anything pro-Western, pro-Israel, etc. Jennings' sneers and snide comments were always evident for those who did not meet his very left-of-center point of view. A great example was his sneering during the 2000 vote recount, and after, when Bush was declared President. Another was his sneering just after the 9/11 attacks when Bush delivered his speech to a joint session of Congress. Jennings' elitist sneers will NOT be missed.
While I never wish death upon anyone, it's only sad that Jennings despicable brand of advocacy journalism--parading as "news"--wasn't laid to rest along with him.
Unfortunately, that will not happen. Sadly, the female, more personable, non-toupeed version of Jennings--Elizabeth Vargas--is set to step into Jenning's shoes. She got off to a great Jennings-esque start in her first hosting duties at ABC's "20/20," last fall. She delivered a very sympathetic profile and interview of HAMAS operative and fundraiser Cat Stevens. Expect more of this to come.
It's sad when anyone dies of cancer. I won't dance on Jennings' grave, the way he danced on the graves of young, innocent athletes slaughtered at the Munich Olympics--the way he blasphemied their murders with his shallow, understand-the-Islamic-terrorists coverage. Unlike the murdered Munich athletes he dishonored, Jennings died in peace and without pain. He got to say good-bye to his loved ones. They did not.
But I will remember Peter Jennings for the less than honorable person he was--not the emperor with no clothing that is now being memorialized.
Jennings used to end his newscasts with, "And that's a look at our world." No, it wasn't a look at our world at all. It was Peter Jennings' slanted world, and every day he acted as if he was doing us a favor giving us his warped look at it.
No, Peter Jennings, that wasn't our world at all. Jennings' legacy is helping advance the cause of Islamic terrorists on broadcast television, parading it as news. He wrote his own epitaph with it. Unfortunately, it came with a lot more tombstones and epitaphs then just Jennings'--and most of those buried beneath are a whole lot more innocent.
They are the victims of Islamic terrorism--the brand Peter Jennings helped build into a network news product. That cancer,unfortunately, is still here. And it has metasticized
I think it's in poor taste because he's not even in the ground yet, regardless of the parts I agree with.
I won't pile on the trashing of Jennings, but I do wish the MSM would stop effusing their whitewash of the guy. They're way overdoing it, slow news day notwithstanding.
Right now, it's a blog entry. I don't know whether or not it will become a formal article. Either way, I agree with you when you say this: "Debbie should have waited a couple weeks since it will be dismissed as vitriol."
Agreed.
Code for: "a socialist sympathizer who truly didn't have a country he wanted to call his own".
Yaasir Arafat a pederast and terrorist.
Excellent post! I was getting tired of reaching for the remote.
President Bush is always the epitome of class. The MSM are the epitome of class minus the "cl".
BTW, the article is right on. I'll always remember him as PALESTINE PETE.
Ping
Thanks for the link and the post. THIS is the Jennings I knew. RIP Pet-ah, but your way of 'reporting' will not be missed.
I haven't read any posts on the thread so I might be alone in my feeling that this article was in poor taste.
The man is not even dead 24 hours and he is being bashed.
I was not a Jenings fan but I think respect for his passing is in order. There will be time to critique his career and even his personal life but that can wait for a time.
I didn't look that close. It was his eyes that got me thinking. He looks blitzed there.
I rarely watched him once I discovered Fox. Snobby is right. He always seemed 'too cool for you' in MHO. Well, he's gone now and let's hope that the next one is a bit more conservative. I'm not betting the farm, though.
That was a great article by Debbie! Thanks a lot for posting it.
First off: I respect Jennings as an accomplished broadcast journalist, and I certainly take no pleasure at all in his passing. But we should not overlook his many faults, which were displayed in the consistent slant on the news he presented on ABC. Because of left-wing bias inherent in the network, important information was concealed or distorted in the public eye on many topics. Islamic radicalism was one such topic, as Debbie points out.
Even as we rightly mourn the death of Jennings, we should never forget the unhealthy and dangerous bias that he helped propogate through the MSM. Thank God the networks don't control things the way they did when Jennings took over.
My most vivid memory of Jennings was his coverage of the O.J. slow-speed chase. O.J.'s Bronco was parked in his driveway and super-journalist Jennings takes a call from a witness who says he can see into the car from the house next door. Of course they put this guy on the air with no verification. Peter asks him what he sees and they go back and forth a bit. Then the guys says "It looks like OJ is reading a book....it's....it's a copy of Howard Stern's "Private Parts"--available at bookstores everywhere!" The episode simultaneously made this stuffed shirt anchorman look like an ass and exposed the absurdity of the media's O.J. obsession(which only got worse). That's my Peter Jenning's memory.
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