It is obviously the role of the press in a free American society to publish reports of American failures in the war on terror. But part of what is wrong in this whole Newsweek aftermath is the distinct reality that the American press, by and large, is almost exclusively interested in scrutinizing America. It’s not interested in scrutinizing the United Nations. It’s not interested in scrutinizing the actions of France or Russia. It often seems more interested in making excuses for our most troublesome allies (Last week, they were running around expressing offense that anyone would quibble Russia’s what-captive-nations talk around the V-E Day ceremonies.) We need more balance in scrutiny — scrutinize everyone, not just pick, pick, pick apart at the American side and give everyone else a free pass or a shoulder to cry on.