Page 272 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

262 Chapter 10

what alternative industries exist to keep the Afghan economy running is dis-
counted. For example, former Presidential candidate John Keny argues in the
Wall Street Journal in favor of sending more troops to Afghanistan, so as to
combat a "resurgent Taliban" that has been "funded largely by a flourishing
opium trade," which increased by 50 percent in 2005. Keny fails to offer any
sustainable alternatives to poppy cultivation, however, outside of extremely
vague advocacy of providing "alternative livelihoods for opium farmers.'*'
Opium has long been the most lucrative crop for Afghan farmers, far more
The
profitable than any other agricultural a~ternative.~~ destruction of this crop
would translate into the collapse not only of Afghanistan's illicit economy, but a
significant portion of its economy altogether. To be fair, some media cornmenta-
tors have moved to address this problem. Anne Applebaum of the Washington
Post, admitting that: "it isn't fashionable right now to argue for any legal form
of opiate cultivation," refuses to discount the importance of opium for Afghani-
stan's economy. By early 2007, "Afghanistan's opium exports account[ed] for
somewhere between one-third and two-thirds of the country's gross domestic
product.'*4 Opium production has been further demonized, primarily due to
Taliban resurgence in Southern Afghanistan. The Taliban has been heavily reli-
ant on opium production to fund its attacks on NATO and government forces,
and such attacks increased dramatically in 2006 and 2007.~' Reports of the Tali-
ban's expanded presence in Afghanistan have provoked American military lead-
ers to consider extended tours of duty for American troops, as well as a possible
increase in troop numbers.

September 11th: What Changed in the Media?

It is considered common knowledge that Se tember 1 lth led to major changes in
B
the way that Americans look at the world.4 Many Americans attempted to shun
their parochialism and ignorance of world affairs by gaining access to more in-
formation about U.S. foreign policy, Middle East politics, global opinion of the
U.S., and other important issues. Book sales in the area of international affairs
and politics generally have increased in the years following the 911 1 attacks.
The U.S. media, along with most of the public, viewed the 911 1 attacks as
an attack on the American way of life, and an attack on American values. In the
post-911 1 political environment, most throughout the media and public called for
violent retribution in punishing those responsible for killing 3,000 innocent vic-
tims who died in the World Trade Towers. The American public, shortly before
the war began, also overwhelmingly accepted the plans of the Bush administra-
tion to go to war with Afghanistan. Encouraged by the mainstream press,
Americans increasingly began to support the use of force, first against Afghani-
stan, and then against Iraq in the name of fighting terrorism.
After the 911 1 terrorist attacks, a number of questions were promptly put
forth throughout the mainstream and dissident media, and in general dialogue
between citizens. How could this have happened? Who exactly were the attack-
ers? Why was the U.S. targeted? One of the most important questions asked