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U nited States Action |
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| 038. U.S. News
Media and Terror Group Figure Editorials July 24, 2007 http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/07/us_news_terror_editorials.php U.S. News Media and Terror Group Figure EditorialsBy Jeffrey Imm
In the battle against global Jihadist organizations, the challenge of how to effectively deal with Jihadist terror group propaganda remains a national issue that needs to be addressed. Individuals who are either members of or supporters of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) (as designated by the U.S. State Department), are increasingly being represented in the U.S. news media's editorials, op-ed pieces, and other columns. FTO's Hizbullah and Hamas terrorist group figures are gaining unfettered access as columnists in major American newspapers, such as the Washington Post and the New York Times. Hizbullah "Supporter" Column in Washington Post Hizbullah is a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and "Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah" is on the US Department of Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN). As reported by Newsweek itself, "In 1983, U.S. officials accused him of issuing a religious edict, or fatwa, that condoned the devastating truck bombing of the Marine headquarters in Beirut ." Today's Washington Post online column from Hizbullah "supporter" Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah is part of a series of Washington Post-Newsweek columns "On Faith" to discuss religious issues. On July 23, Douglas Farah provided a blog posting addressing a recent Washington Post outlook section by Islamic scholars which failed to address push factors key to radicalization of Jihadists. While both the latest National Intelligence Estimate warns Americans of potential attacks by the terror group Hizbullah, and the US Treasury announces more financial sanctions on Hizbullah's support organization, the Washington Post provides an online column for a Hizbullah "supporter", promoted on the front page of its website.
A month ago, both the Washington Post and the New York Times provided op-ed columns to "Hamas figure" Ahmed Yousef. Reuters reported "Shunned by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization, the Islamist group Hamas scored a publicity coup this week by defending its policies in Gaza with opinion pieces in two of the country's most influential newspapers on the same day. The New York Times and The Washington Post gave space to Ahmed Yousef, a senior Hamas figure, on Wednesday to argue that the United States should not interfere in Gaza". The Washington Post clearly knew of Ahmed Yousef's relationship with Hamas by the very title of the op-ed piece June 20, 2007 op-ed piece "Engage With Hamas - We Earned Our Support". This is not the first time that Hamas figure Ahmed Yousef has written editorials for such news media. A year ago, on November 1, 2006, the New York Times had another Ahmed Yousef editorial: "Pause for Peace" by Ahmed Yousef.
This is not a new issue, and as Steven Emerson points out in his July 24 posting, there are "American newspaper editors advocating on behalf of Hamas", such as former public editor for the Chicago Tribune. In March 2004, Newsweek published an interview with Hizbullah supporter Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, where Newsweek acknowledged his "role as the spiritual leader of Hizbullah" but stated that he was "no longer so closely associated" with Hizbullah. The Newsweek interview focused on the U.S. 2004 elections, Iraq, suicide bombers, "the Jewish lobby" and his view that President Bush should go "to a psychiatrist". Nearly a year earlier, on April 7, 2003, Newsweek again did an interview with Hizbullah supporter Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah. In both cases, the interviews serve as functional "columns" for Hizbullah "supporter" Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah to provide a mainstream media source for his viewpoints, unchallenged and undebated, without any references to Hizbullah as U.S. Government-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, but only as a "resistance" organization. On March
23, 2006, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Hizbullah
propaganda organization Al-Manar as a "Specially Designated Global
Terrorist Entity" and as an "Arm of Hizballah Terrorist Network". In
this designation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury stated that "Al
Manar and al Nour are the media arms of the Hizballah terrorist network
and have facilitated Hizballah's activities".
April 30, 2007 - U.S. State Department Foreign Terrorist Organization Listing July 24, 2007 - U.S. Department of Treasury - Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN)
July 23, 2007 - Douglas Farah: What is Missing in the Current Debate on
Islam June 22, 2007 - Reuters: Hamas scores publicity coup in U.S. June 20, 2007 - Washington Post: Engage With Hamas - We Earned Our Support - Ahmed Yousef June 20, 2007 - New York Times: What Hamas Wants - Ahmed Yousef November 1, 2006 - New York Times Editorial: "Pause for Peace" - by Ahmed Yousef
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