The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Associated Press: Bias? What Bias?

Posted on | June 1, 2010 | 11 Comments

Strictly neutral and objective:

Israeli naval commandos stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday, killing nine passengers in a botched raid that provoked international outrage and a diplomatic crisis.
Dozens of activists and six Israeli soldiers were wounded in the bloody predawn confrontation in international waters. The violent takeover dealt yet another blow to Israel’s international image, already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its 3-year-old blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory.

“Verdict now, facts later,” as Wes Pruden says. “The Associated Press is reading like Al-Jazeera,” as Pamela Geller says.

AP editors would doubtless defend their transparent tendentiousness as providing the reader with “context,” but they seem rather selective in the matter of choosing context. How about the reality of who these “pro-Palestinian activists” were in fact organized by pro-Hamas group with terror ties?

The Turkish IHH (Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi in Turkish) was founded in 1992, and reportedly popped up on the CIA’s radar in 1996 for its radical Islamist leanings. . . .
The Turkish nonprofit belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization known to finance terrorism called the Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic). Notably, the Union is chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who is known best for his religious ruling that encourages suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. According to one report, Qardawi personally transferred millions of dollars to the Union in an effort to provide financial support to Hamas.
In 2008, the Israelis banned IHH, along with 35 other Islamist charities worldwide, for its ties to the Union of Good. . . . Israelis first blocked the Union of Good from operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2002.
Interestingly, the Union of Good may not only be tied to Hamas. . . . French magistrate Jean-Louis Brougiere also testified that IHH had an “important role” in Ahmed Ressam’s failed “millennium plot” to bomb the Los Angeles airport in late 1999.
The U.S. government . . . also views the Union of Good as a terrorist organization. On November 12, 2008, a press release from the U.S. Treasury announced the umbrella group’s leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), stating that the group was “created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization.”
“Terrorist groups such as Hamas continue to exploit charities to radicalize vulnerable communities and cultivate support for their violent activities,” said Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey.

How much of that shows up in the Associated Press story? Two sentences:

Organizers included the IHH, an Islamic humanitarian group that is based in Istanbul but operates in several other countries. Israel outlawed the group in 2008 because of its ties to Hamas.

That’s paragraph 27.

Category: Atlas Shrugs, Israel, Media Bias, Terrorism

Comments

11 Responses to “Associated Press: Bias? What Bias?”

  1. ak4mc
    June 1st, 2010 @ 6:10 pm

    It’s a little known fact that the word “Associated” in “Associated Press” is actually from an Arabic word meaning “safely ignored.”

  2. ak4mc
    June 1st, 2010 @ 1:10 pm

    It’s a little known fact that the word “Associated” in “Associated Press” is actually from an Arabic word meaning “safely ignored.”

  3. Andrew Sullivan
    June 1st, 2010 @ 6:38 pm

    I am not sure I see any bias. They think the Israelis are wrong and war criminals, don’t they. What is biased about that?

  4. Andrew Sullivan
    June 1st, 2010 @ 1:38 pm

    I am not sure I see any bias. They think the Israelis are wrong and war criminals, don’t they. What is biased about that?

  5. Charlie Gibson-ABC News
    June 1st, 2010 @ 6:39 pm

    Hamas? Never heard of them.

  6. Charlie Gibson-ABC News
    June 1st, 2010 @ 1:39 pm

    Hamas? Never heard of them.

  7. lester
    June 1st, 2010 @ 8:27 pm

    wow I can’t believe there are STILL republicans who haven’t got the ron paul memo on this stuff. do you guys still thnk the iraq war was a good idea too?

    It’s all spending guys. israel isn’t part of conservative anymore.

  8. lester
    June 1st, 2010 @ 3:27 pm

    wow I can’t believe there are STILL republicans who haven’t got the ron paul memo on this stuff. do you guys still thnk the iraq war was a good idea too?

    It’s all spending guys. israel isn’t part of conservative anymore.

  9. Cassy Fiano
    June 1st, 2010 @ 9:07 pm

    […] The Other McCain Associated Press or Al-Jazeera? […]

  10. Mark J. Goluskin
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 4:40 am

    Really, bias from the ASSociated Press?! Nah! Just your imagination. Actually. You know, it is ALL Bush’s fault!

  11. Mark J. Goluskin
    June 1st, 2010 @ 11:40 pm

    Really, bias from the ASSociated Press?! Nah! Just your imagination. Actually. You know, it is ALL Bush’s fault!