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Victor
Davis Hanson The
airing by CBS of even small portions of the last filmed moments of Daniel
Pearl's life as he was tortured and beheaded — now part of a "recruitment"
tape for Islamic terrorists — was obscene. Such sensationalism is
more fitting for al-Jazeera than for a supposedly professional and liberal
iconic institution. And this broadcast — not of a death on the battlefield,
but a preliminary to a staged execution — only gives enemies of the
West encouragement in their cynical interpretation of us as commercial,
crass, and superficial, and, in a way, brings us down to their primordial
level. We can learn nothing new that we did not know previously by airing
the tape; its broadcast only aids the medieval terror of al Qaeda, which
we already knew well enough from the grotesque sights on Sept. 11. This
very wrong decision is only more evidence that our elite media does not
have a clue about the deadly and depraved nature of our enemies, and the
seriousness of the war we are in — or the need in such troubled times
to respect rules of common decency and concern for the feelings of the
bereaved family. What is next is anyone's guess — but let us hope
that CBS is not anywhere near future tapes of suicide bombings and executions
that our enemies will no doubt produce.
In defending the decision to air the Daniel Pearl video, Dan Rather stated: "CBS News brought you this report because… the video illustrates how far an enemy will go to spread its message of hate for the United States." This is a good argument. Americans have not yet grasped the depth and breadth of the horrible, violent madness that has taken hold in so much of the Muslim world. However, offending Pearl's family was cruel and avoidable. The Pearl video may be the most grisly example, but there is no shortage of other horrifying material from the Muslim world. Talk shows on al-Jazeera and its many imitators are forums for hatred and vitriol. Sermons exhorting the faithful to slaughter are broadcast on radio and television throughout the Middle East. The 1994 video Jihad in America documents such sermons being given in the United States. Arab periodicals publish grotesque political cartoons and deranged conspiracy theories. Since 1998 the Middle East Media Research Institute has been translating the print and electronic media of the Arab world. There
is a real story in all of this and CBS did us a disservice by distracting
us from it with an unnecessary controversy. William
McGowan In defending CBS's decision to air portions of the Daniel Pearl execution video — the most graphic scenes left out — some First Amendment lawyers have said that CBS had the "right" to do what it did and that the government was wrong to ask the network not to air it. While all journalists should be sensitive to the free-speech issues here, this is more a question of journalistic taste and journalistic necessity, and just as much a matter of aiding and abetting the Islamic propaganda machine while attempting to report on it. Although the sensitivities of Pearl's family should not be the sole grounds for airing or not airing anything connected to this story, Marianne Pearl is right when she says that CBS's decision to air the tape "perpetuates propaganda and sensationalizes tragedy." Airing the video was first and foremost a violation of basic journalistic taste and a violation of Daniel Pearl's basic human dignity. Remember that what Pearl was forced to say about being Jewish, and about the wrongs associated with America's "unconditional" support for Israel was the product of being tortured and terrorized in the most brutal of circumstances, psychologically, if not yet physically. I also think showing the video was journalistically unnecessary. If the point of the piece was "For Americans to see the impact of the propaganda war being waged against them," as Dan Rather intoned, a strong verbal description of what Pearl was forced to say, coupled with a still photo and perhaps some reaction shots of young Saudi men who are, purportedly, the targets of such propaganda, would suffice. Showing Pearl making the coerced statements, as opposed to reporting the substance of what he said, was exploitative and sensational and actually had little in news value. Not to be minimized here is the fact that in airing the Pearl video CBS crossed the line from reporting on the Islamic propaganda campaign to facilitating it. Talk about "bounce." If I were the al Qaeda's minister of propaganda, I would certainly be glad about the whole thing, just as Somalia warlord Muhammad Husain Aideed was doubtless ecstatic after American networks aired shots of the dead Army Ranger being dragged through the dusty streets of Mogadishu in 1993. Finally,
one wonders about the intellectual and moral depth of those who were in
on the decision. According to a news report, CBS Evening News producer
Bob Murphy said that "When I saw the tape, I said to myself, 'These
people are doing terrible and dangerous things that could affect me and
my family.'" To which I ask: He's only getting this now!?
Where has he been for the last eight months and why would it take something
like Pearl's execution to wake him up to this evil so late in the game,
especially since he is based in New York, where we are only now finishing
the cleanup effort associated with the biggest mass murder in American
history? Rich
Noyes The
Media Research Center is not a big fan of Dan Rather's CBS Evening
News, but their story on the terrorists' propaganda war against the
U.S. — which included excerpts from the Pearl tape — was darn
good journalism about an aspect of this war which demands more coverage.
CBS showed that America's enemies are using this reprehensible snuff film
to lure new recruits to their evil cause, and that's something we need
to remember even as the Chomskys of the world claim that the U.S. is the
real bad guy. James
Phillips I
believe that CBS made a grave error when it aired the Pearl murder tape.
Not only did it inflict additional suffering on the Pearl family, but
CBS allowed itself to be used as a megaphone for the terrorists who abducted
Pearl. By aiding and abetting Pearl's murderers, CBS has made it more
likely that other terrorists in the future will kidnap and execute journalists
or other symbolic hostages in order to broadcast their message to the
widest possible audience. By broadcasting the tape, CBS has raised the
potential value of murdering American hostages to a wide variety of terrorist
groups or disturbed individuals who may be prone to be copycats. The tape
may help CBS boost its viewer ratings, but it had little news value. The
details of Pearl's death were already widely known. But by broadcasting
the grisly tape, CBS has helped Pearl's killers to disseminate a recruiting
poster for their bloodthirsty movement. Jim
Robbins How far has CBS sunk? In February the Pakistani government stated that the video of Pearl being murdered was too gruesome for public release. "It was discussed at the most senior level whether to release this video to television channels," a Pakistani official said, "but finally it was decided that even foreign television channels would not be able to show such gruesome scenes." Former CBS co-anchor Connie Chung saw the video around the same time. When asked about the segment showing Pearl's murder, she said, "I will not describe [the violent scenes] out of respect to Daniel Pearl and his family." On May 12, the shock website posted a request for the video, noting that there were some fakes out there. "[I]f anyone of you guys has the real footage, send it in! You'll get $$$ in return." So I'm guessing CBS is around that level, but first we'd have to know how much $$$ the network paid for the tape. If more than ogrish, they win the prize. At
CBS New York headquarters there is a plaque in honor of CBS newsman Edward
R. Murrow bearing the inscription, "He set standards of excellence
that remain unsurpassed." Ain't it the truth! Daniel
Pipes It is outrageous that CBS would go against the Pearl family's wishes and broadcast the tape — but it's also oh-so-typical of the major media. That said, broadcasting the tape is probably salutary, for it brings graphically home just who the barbarians are that killed this fine young journalist and who threaten all of us Americans. |
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TV networks be airing the Daniel Pearl tape? 
