Newsweek and the Bush Arrogance

First Dan Rather, now Newsweek. If conservatives have their way, in short time the only thing left to read, watch and/or listen to will be The Weekly Standard, The O'Reilly Factor and Rush Limbaugh. Ok, so Newsweek screwed up. Big time. Not the first time that's happened in the media, and certainly won't be the last. But the real problem here is the Bush administration's reaction to the blunder. True, the newsweekly's now-unsourced story that the holy book Koran was being desecrated and defiled by U.S. guards to rattle detainees at Guantanamo Bay sparked death, global riots and outrage in the Muslim community. Newsweek has since backtracked, admitted the inaccuracy and offered its regrets. But the Bush administration is not happy with just a full retraction. Through White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan today, it's telling Newsweek to write a "positive" story on how the US Military respects the Koran and Muslims. This demand, in their overall campaign to literally control the media, has taken the Bush arrogance to new heights. Where does it get off telling an independent news magazine what to write? McClellan said "The report had real consequences. People have lost their lives. Our image abroad has been damaged." This coming from an administration that--using and manipulating inaccurate intelligence--all but unilaterally invaded a sovereign nation, overthrew its leader, tortured its civilians, and caused the deaths of some 1600 U.S. soldiers/2000 Iraqi policeman/20,000 Iraqi civilians, and wounded and/or maimed tens of thousands others. And they have the audacity to blame Newsweek for the damage to America's standing in the Muslim world? Where is the apology from Bush for his grave error in judgment and leadership that has wreaked such havoc in Iraq? British PM Tony Blair already issued his, yet hell will freeze over before we get a mea culpa from Bush. If our standing in the Muslim community has been seriously marred, as I believe it has, Newsweek is but a pimple on the proverbial elephant's ass. Shame on Bush for attempting to portray it otherwise. Let's put the blame squarely where it belongs...on the arrogant, war-mongering heads of Bush, Chaney, Rumsfeld, Condi and Wolfowitz. Andy