Category Archives: war on terror

ETHIOPIAN BRITISH

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I see that the BBC is giving great prominence to the “Binyam Mohamad is innocent” story, this time focusing on the Miliband/US angle. The bit that I find interesting is the line “Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian who lived in the UK, believes US papers detailing his treatment support his claims.” But hang on, that is not quite the full picture, is it? Mr Mohamed IS an Ethiopian, and he is one who illegally entered this country in 1994. The way in which this law-breaker is being presented as some sort of dyed-in-the-wool Brit is staggering, just as his totally implausible stories as to how he ended up in Pakistan in AQ training camps are also being carefully sanitised. The BBC loves to run these stories, always carefully sympathising with the alleged terrorist. You can be sure this one will be on Question Time tonight. Maybe Binyam could be given an honorary knighthood?

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Let’s not be hasty.

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In this BBC article, US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary, it says:

Mr Obama said in a statement “the terrorists responsible for 9/11 are still at large, and must be brought to justice,” in a reference to the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, who the US believes masterminded the attacks.

(Emphasis added.)

Damned if I can see any reason for that phrasing other than to cast doubt on whether it was Osama Bin Laden who masterminded the attacks. Wasn’t Bin Laden’s own video claiming responsibility good enough for the BBC?

We’ve had this despicable pandering to conspiracy theorists before. There was something of a flare-up a year ago today, as it happened. It ended with worldwide hostile interest courtesy of a link from the Drudge Report and condemnation of the BBC from a former head of the Joint Intelligence Committee and BBC governor. See this roundup post.

I’ll finish with some further observations from commenters. From “George R”:

In its report on 9/11 anniversary, the BBC presents the events of that day passively and anonymously:

“..four hijacked planes hit the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvanian field.”

From “Pat”:

On today of all days a topic on the BBC HYS page is ‘Should the US review its war on terror?’

From “Martin”:

… I keep wanting to know where the ‘unsubscribe’ button is on the BBC’s website.

(Added later.) I do find it depressing to reflect how I came to write the above post. Before going to bed last night I scanned the BBC website and, remembering what happened last year, I thought, “At least they wouldn’t dare peddle that line agai– oh. They would.”

Finally, just to lay to rest any doubts: the title was intended as sarcasm.

UPDATE, 13 SEP: The wording of the BBC article has now been stealth-edited to “…in a reference to the hunt for the al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.” The “Last Edited” field at the top of the page says “17:33 GMT, Thursday, 11 September 2008 18:33 UK”. This is untrue, as I noticed the original and offensive wording that prompted my post hours later than that and it was still there the following morning.

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BUSH DERANGEMENT SYNDROME

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. If you want a laugh, I suggest you read these comments on the BBC “Have your Say” page concerning the imminent arrival of US President Bush to the UK tomorrow. I particularly enjoyed Muhammad (sic) Adam’s comment that “Bush is the world’s biggest terrorist and murderer. He should not be allowed into the UK. His presence in this pure land violates its sanctity. Bush has not done anything good for his nation, or for any nation for that matter ever since he took office. He should be arrested for crimes against humanity, for genocide, for international terrorism.” I think Muhammad may be articulating BBC policy on this topic as they prepare for a hurricane of protest at the Bush visit. I’ve been invited on the BBC Northern Ireland Nolan Show tomorrow morning as someone who supports the President’s record on te war on terror. Guantanamo is one area that I suspect will be tackled, with the likes of Shamnesty International’s street burlesque in orange jumpsuits through Belfast city centre being give considerable media time by the BBC. My only problem with Gitmo was that enemy combatants made it that far. A gulag of our times that allows inmates to put on weight is a gulag too far. I know the hard-left will be out in full-on moonbat mode tomorrow, whinging about all the imperfections of the US President without anything substantial to say about the Islamic pathology that brought us 9/11, 7/7, Madrid and Bali to name but a few. Bush derangement syndrome will be evident in BBC new coverage over the next 48hrs and I will report back on my experience tomorrow.

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