Posted on 04/25/2003 1:16:19 AM PDT by KQQL
MANHATTAN -- War's sobering realities never reached American TV screens during the recent U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, according to NBC News correspondent Ashleigh Banfield.
"We didn't see what happen when Marines fired M-16s," Banfield said during a Landon lecture appearance Thursday at Kansas State University. "We didn't see what happened after mortars landed, only the puff of smoke. There were horrors that were completely left out of this war. So was this journalism? Or was this coverage?"
On the other hand, she said, many U.S. television viewers were treated to a non-stop flow of images presented by "cable news operators who wrap themselves in the American flag and go after a certain target demographic."
Ashleigh Banfield"It was a grand and glorious picture that had a lot of people watching, " Banfield said, "and a lot of advertisers excited about cable TV news. But it wasn't journalism, because I'm not sure Americans are hesitant to do this again -- to fight another war, because it looked to them like a courageous and terrific endeavor."
Banfield's appearance at K-State's McCain Auditorium marked the 129th speech in the long-running Landon Lecture series, which was established in 1966 by the late Kansas Gov. Alfred M. Landon.
In addition to her duties at NBC, Banfield also hosts the popular MSNBC cable TV news show, "MSNBC Investigates."
Until last fall, Banfield anchored her own MSNBC news program, "Ashleigh Banfield: On Location," a program that included a stop last summer in Manhattan, where the Canadian-born host interviewed K-State experts who have developed methods to protect the nation's food supply from potential bioterrorism threats.
Since 9-11, Banfield has frequently reported news stories relating to the Bush administration's "war on terrorism" from the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
In her lecture, Banfield noted inconsistences in the Bush administration's announced war aims in Iraq, beginning with the original U.S. pre-war contention that Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein's alleged stockpile of chemical and biological weapons posed a serious international threat.
"Conveniently, in the week or two we were in there, it became a message of 'freeing the Iraqi people,' " Banfield said. "That should have been the message early on, in fact, six to eight months preceding this campaign, if we were trying to win over the hearts of the Arab world."
According to Banfield, U.S. broadcasters don't accurately inform the American public of the basic reason behind widespread Islamic distrust of the U.S. -- the American government's continued unwillingness to treat Israelis and Palestinians as equal partners in the future of Israel.
"As a journalist, I have been ostracized just from going on television and saying, 'Here's what the leaders of Hezbollah, a radical Muslim group, are telling me about what is needed to bring peace to Israel,' " she said. "And, 'Here's what the Lebanese are saying.' Like it or lump it, don't shoot the messenger, but that's what they do."
An audience of about 500 attended Banfield's lecture, the last event in this season's Landon Lecture series.
Well, I guess if she was was really dedicated she could have volunteered to be on the receiving end. Oh wait-that would have dangerous?
Well, I guess if she was was really dedicated to journalism, she could have volunteered to be on the receiving end. Oh wait-that would have been dangerous?
or illegitimate daughter?
is there anyway to physically separate the US from Canada? I got a chainsaw, I'm gonna go get started in Windsor, right near a cigar store with a huge picture of brother Fidel in the window. They loooove Cuba over there.
There's no TV "coverage" of what happens during abortions on TV, either.
But I doubt Ms. Banfield protests the "horrors that were completely left out" in "journalistic" discussions of abortion.
Ashleigh Banfield started her career in broadcasting in Kenora, Ontario (a town located on the north shore of Lake of the Woods ... 200 miles, or so, east of Winnipeg). She then moved up to a larger audience when she went to work for a TV station in Winnipeg. Don't recall the rest of her progression up to her present position, but the term "info babe" definite1y applies here ... now she's on the college lecture circuit ... go figure.
Yes, Ashleigh...what did the Arabs "want" when they attacked Israel in 1967...at a time when they occupied ALL of the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan, and ALL of Jerusalem--and all Jews were forbidden from stepping foot there. Were they angry at the lack of a "peace process" then?
The American government's continued unwillingness to treat Israelis and Palestinians as equal partners in the future of Israel may in fact be real. But U.S. broadcasters have been all to efficient in informing the American public of the real reason. The Palestinians desire to see every Israeli man, woman and child wiped from the face of the Earth by any means possible. At least, to me that message is all too clear when they report on all the bombings and shootings.
I'll bet dollars to donuts none of her reports ever referred to Hezbollah as a "radical Muslim group".
No, every time Bush spoke about Iraq, he discussed both WMD and the plight of the Iraqi people. Banfield is a liar.
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