Page 271 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Afghanistan and 9/I I

The Northern Alliance "Alternative"

Much of American media reporting implies that Northern Alliance rule is some-
thing of an improvement over the extremism and repression of the Taliban. As
American allies, North Alliance warlords' responsibility for atrocities is not
typically a major concern for American reporters discussing Afghan "democra-
tization," although such atrocities have been condemned from time to time in
media reports. USA Today commends post-Taliban Afghanistan as a 'tformer
[emphasis added] cradle of radical Islamic fundamentalism," neglecting the
Northern Alliance's role in the destruction of the country after the Soviet with-
drawal in 1989, and its instatement of conservative Islamist rule.38 Maseeh
Rahman of the Washington Times also speaks highly of the election period,
when "most Afghans appear[ed] eager to cast their votes, seeing it as an oppor-
tunity to end what they call 'gun rule."'39
Increasingly, Progressive-Left media outlets are providing critical analysis
of the deterioration of Afghan infrastructure and security. Jim Ingalls and Sonali
Kolhatkar denounced the lack of Afghan civic involvement in setting up the
2004 elections: "the majority of Afghans played no part in decision-making re-
garding the schedule and structure of the elections, and will not benefit from the
results." Ingalls and Kolhatkar summarize that "few [American] media outlets
have dared to blame the U.S. for the more egregious fraud of imposing early
elections on a still war-ravaged country where Northern Alliance warlords le-
gitimized by Washington will continue to hold real power, regardless of who
wins the

Opium: Afghanistan's Economic Lifeblood

One final note on Afghanistan's reconstruction pertains to the country's reliance
on the opium industry. Reporters' coverage of the opium "problem" sometimes
fails to provide a context for the crop's extraordinary importance to the nation's
struggling economy (despite the danger it also poses as an addictive narcotic
throughout Afghanistan and the world). While media organizations do some-
times highlight the negative effects of using defoliants on civilian populations,
other equally important humanitarian issues fail to become major concern^.^'
Without pausing to ponder the economic implications, American media reports
often emphasize the "progress," or lack thereof of the U.S. opium eradication
effort. Western experts speak uncritically of the efforts to destroy Afghanistan's
main economic staple.
One question is the standard in many of the reports: how effective has the
U.S. been in eliminating these crops? In one example, the Associated Press re-
ported that American officials "doubt that the vast amount of opium produced in
Afghanistan can be significantly reduced without spraying." But in emphasizing
the pragmatic question of "how best to get rid of Afghan poppy," the question of