War Not Going Fast Enough; ABC Focused on Bombing Victims, Not 16 Killed in Pakistani Church; Dan Rather Blamed U.S. for Funeral

1) The war isn't going fast enough for ABC News as John McWethy complained: "Two weeks after the Pentagon said Taliban forces had been 'eviscerated' by U.S. bombing, the Taliban still appear to be firmly in control." NBC's Jim Miklaszewski offered the same theme but he, like CBS's David Martin and unlike McWethy, ran a clip from Donald Rumsfeld blaming al-Qaeda for the civilian deaths.

2) ABC's Peter Jennings showcased some jumpy video from Al-Jazeera of a few guys in the back of two pick up trucks as he claimed it proves there are "recent volunteers" amongst "some of the foreign forces who've been supporting the Taliban."

3) Terrorists killed 16 Christian worshipers at a church in Pakistan on Sunday, but instead of mentioning that ABC focused on highlighting two civilians killed by U.S. bombing. "An old woman cried out to God in pain," David Wright relayed before stressing: "The victims included children as young as four." On FNC, Fred Barnes predicted: "If this had been an errant American bomb that hit this church it probably would have gotten bigger play in the American press, particular on the network news shows."

4) The U.S. is to blame for the killing of 16 Protestant worshipers in Pakistan? That seemed to be the implication of what Dan Rather said on Monday night: "Religious tensions are running higher after the U.S.-led terror war in Afghanistan touched off such events as a funeral today for Pakistani Christians gunned down during church services yesterday."

5) CNN's Jeff Greenfield fondly recalled for Don Imus: "If you think back to the response when we went to war in World War II, the country passed a 91 percent marginal tax rate. Almost nobody paid it, but the idea was, we're all in this together."

Correction: A missed pluralization in the October 29 CyberAlert which quoted ABC News President David Westin: "...that's perhaps for me in my private life, perhaps it's for me dealing with my loved one, perhaps it's for my minister at church." That should have read "...dealing with my loved ones..." (Thanks to the MRC's Mez Djouadi a RealPlayer clip of Westin, refusing to say the Pentagon was not a legitimate target, is now up on the MRC home page.)

     1

The war isn't going fast enough for ABC News as John McWethy complained on Monday night: "Two weeks after the Pentagon said Taliban forces had been 'eviscerated' by U.S. bombing, the Taliban still appear to be firmly in control." An ABC News consultant added that the bombing is driving the population against the U.S.

     NBC's Jim Miklaszewski offered the same theme as McWethy, but unlike McWethy, he ran a soundbite from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld blaming al-Qaeda for all civilian casualties. Miklaszewski also reported: "As for that Red Cross food warehouse in Kabul bombed twice last Friday, a senior U.S. military official now says it was bombed on purpose because the food was being stolen by Taliban troops."

     Over on the CBS Evening News, David Martin also relayed Rumsfeld's point about civilian casualties: "21st century technology still is not error-free and inevitably a target is misidentified or bombs go astray. But Rumsfeld says the civilian casualties accidentally caused by American bombing are nothing compared to the civilian casualties deliberately caused by the September 11th airliner attacks which the U.S. blames on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and his Taliban protectors."
     Rumsfeld: "The responsibility for every single casualty in this war, be they innocent Afghans or innocent Americans, rests at the feet of Taliban and al-Qaeda."

     Jennings introduced ABC's October 29 World News Tonight status report on the war effort: "The Secretary of Defense said today that those people who are questioning the effectiveness of the U.S. bombing campaign in Afghanistan are too impatient. And the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said much the same thing. The Pentagon is being pressed harder to be specific about what it has accomplished so far. The bombing campaign against the Taliban is now entering its fourth week and the Taliban are still standing. ABC's John McWethy is, as always, at the Pentagon. John, the questioning, and the criticism, is becoming more persistent."

     McWethy began by passing along how Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers maintains the war is going as planned, but then McWethy countered: "Two weeks after the Pentagon said Taliban forces had been 'eviscerated' by U.S. bombing, the Taliban still appear to be firmly in control."

     McWethy observed how none of the expected defections have occurred before moving to civilian deaths: "Adding to U.S. problems, reports of growing civilian casualties are shaking important American friends in the region. Leaders of Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia warn that in their view the air campaign has already gone on long enough."

     Following a soundbite from Rumsfeld saying he is interested in the concerns of coalition members, but it's a big task that the U.S. is working hard to achieve, McWethy asserted: "In Afghanistan itself the American air campaign also appears to be having some unanticipated consequences."
     Barnet Rubin, an ABC News consultant from New York University, contended: "The bombing campaign has made many Afghans, even those who are against the Taliban, feel they that are under attack. And so it has pushed them either toward the Taliban or at least has made them very reluctant to ally with the United States."

     McWethy wrapped up by noting the U.S. is now air dropping ammunition to Northern Alliance forces.

     On Monday's NBC Nightly News, Jim Miklaszewski declared at the top of his piece: "Despite the long term objectives, Pentagon officials are now beginning to express some frustrations and doubts over the slow pace of the war. American war planes continue to hit military targets today, but despite three weeks of air strikes, U.S. military officials tell NBC News for now the war in Afghanistan has ground to a stalemate. The officials say that in putting together the war plan the Pentagon made two serious miscalculations. First, it was believed once the U.S. started the bombing, opposition forces like the Northern Alliance, would aggressively attack the Taliban military....The second mistake, misreading the enemy. It was hoped intensive bombing would force large numbers of Taliban military to defect. Instead, the Taliban forces are digging in. At the same time [over Al-Jazeera video of injured civilians], the Pentagon is on the defensive against charges American bombs are killing hundreds of civilians. Rumsfeld says the ultimate blame lies with those who started the war."
     Rumsfeld: "The responsibility for every single casualty in this war, be they innocent Afghans or innocent Americans, rests at the feet of Taliban and al-Qaeda."
     Miklaszewski concluded: "As for that Red Cross food warehouse in Kabul bombed twice last Friday, a senior U.S. military official now says it was bombed on purpose because the food was being stolen by Taliban troops."

2

Video of a few guys with guns in the back of pick up trucks is newsworthy to ABC's Peter Jennings. On Monday's World News Tonight, he showcased how some jumpy video from Al-Jazeera of maybe about eight guys in the back of two pick up trucks in a desert proved there are "recent volunteers" amongst "some of the foreign forces who've been supporting the Taliban" in order "to fight for Islam."

     Jennings announced over the video clip: "We got the first pictures today, since the beginning of the U.S. campaign against the Taliban, of some of the foreign forces who've been supporting the Taliban. These pictures come from Al-Jazeera television, which broadcasts in the Arab world. They say that these are recent volunteers. Several of them say they are there to fight for Islam."

3

Terrorists killed 16 Christian worshipers at a church in Pakistan on Sunday, but instead of mentioning that as did the NBC Nightly News with a full story on it Sunday night, ABC again concentrated on highlighting civilians killed by U.S. bombing.

     Sunday's World News Tonight featured a full story on the deaths of two people in Northern Alliance-controlled territory. "An old woman cried out to God in pain," David Wright relayed. "Her daughter says the jets circled overhead before dropping their bombs," he reported before stressing: "The victims included children as young as four."

     Anchor Elizabeth Vargas set up the October 28 story caught by MRC analyst Jessica Anderson: "Today marks the beginning of the fourth week of the American air strikes in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the bombing campaign was proceeding as expected and he indicated fighting might continue during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. There is also a new round of civilian casualties, as ABC's David Wright reports from Afghanistan."

     From northern Afghanistan, Wright checked in: "Villagers buried their dead today on Afghanistan's Shamali Plain, north of Kabul. The grave is shrouded because this victim was a woman. Even in death, only her immediate family is allowed to see her face. Local doctors say she was one of two who died and 10 hurt when American bombs meant for the Taliban frontlines went astray yesterday. The Pentagon has had no comment. These aren't the first civilian casualties in this war, but it is the first time that U.S. bombs have struck civilians on the Northern Alliance side, and it underscores the risks for U.S. policy. Even when the target's the frontline, the trouble is, people live here.
     "An old woman cried out to God in pain. Her daughter says the jets circled overhead before dropping their bombs. All of the wounded were taken to this Italian surgical hospital, the only modern medical facility in this part of Afghanistan. The victims included children as young as four."
     Kate Rowlands, identified as with "Emergency Surgical Center for War Victims," asserted: "Any victim of bombardments or war is not just a surprise. I mean, it's a tragedy and it's a shock and it shouldn't happen."
     Wright concluded by emphasizing the anger at the U.S.: "In the villages hit, people are angry, especially those on the Northern Alliance side. 'You killed these people. Now you can kill me too,' said this man. Today in Kabul itself, there were new bombing raids. According to witnesses at least 13 more civilians died."

     Referring to the killing of the 16 Protestants in a church in Pakistan, on Monday's Special Report with Brit Hume on FNC, Fred Barnes predicted: "If this had been an errant American bomb that hit this church it probably would have gotten bigger play in the American press, particular on the network news shows that seem to be more interested in American collateral damage, or collateral damage caused by American bombing."

     That's certainly true for ABC News. On Sunday, NBC Nightly News ran a full story from Keith Miller on the church attack, but ABC's World News Tonight didn't touch it on Sunday or Monday night. Good Morning America barely got to it as news reader Antonio Mora read a short item about it during Monday's 7:30am news update. As for CBS, which didn't have a CBS Evening News on Sunday, see item #4 below.

4

The U.S. is to blame for the killing of 16 Protestant worshipers in Pakistan? That seemed to be the implication of what Dan Rather said on Monday night: "Religious tensions are running higher after the U.S.-led terror war in Afghanistan touched off such events as a funeral today for Pakistani Christians gunned down during church services yesterday."

     Rather's brief item in full from the October 29 CBS Evening News: "In Pakistan, religious tensions are running higher after the U.S.-led terror war in Afghanistan touched off such events as a funeral today for Pakistani Christians gunned down during church services yesterday. Three masked gunmen fired on the Protestant congregation, meeting in a Catholic church, with automatic weapons, killing at least 16 people. No one has claimed direct responsibility."

     I'm confused. So "religious tensions are running higher" because of a funeral for the victims of a terrorist attack, not because of the attack itself? And the attack was fueled not by hatred of Christians and/or Westerners, but by a reaction to the war?

5

Bring back a 91 percent tax rate, or at least prepare for gas prices "like Europeans have been paying forever." Monday on MSNBC's simulcast of the Imus in the Morning radio show, CNN's Jeff Greenfield fondly recalled: "If you think back to the response when we went to war in World War II, the country passed a 91 percent marginal tax rate. Almost nobody paid it, but the idea was, we're all in this together."

     MRC analyst Ken Shepherd took down Greenfield's recollection and warning to Imus:
     "We may be in for a, I think we are in for a much less comfortable life than we all assumed seven weeks ago. I mean, don't worry, Don, they're not going to pass a confiscatory tax program. You know, they're not going to take away, you know, any of your houses, but I do think that, if you think back to the response when we went to war in World War II, the country passed a 91 percent marginal tax rate. Almost nobody paid it, but the idea was, we're all in this together. You're not going, you know, we're going to ration food, we're going to ration gasoline.
     "Now, let's take that last example. It's not inconceivable to me that one of the fallouts of this, if things broke a certain way, was that our access to cheap, plentiful oil might be put into question, that would be because of our relationship with the Saudis, because of our, okay. Now, is this country prepared to pay anything like the price of gasoline that Europeans have been paying forever, which is roughly two to three times what we pay? Is this country prepared to, to, to give up, or at least to realize that the kind of instant response to life, jump in the car and drive wherever you want, gas is cheap, may in time be altered? I don't know."

     Maybe that could be avoided if media figures like Jeff Greenfield would bring some pressure on liberal politicians to allow more domestic drilling. --  Brent Baker

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