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http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2598

 

ACTION ALERT:

A New Blacklist for " Excuse Makers "

Those who think Iraq War sparks terror are " despicable, " says Friedman

 

July 27, 2005

 

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has urged the U.S. government to create

blacklists of condemned political speech--not only by those who advocate

violence,

but also by those who believe that U.S. government actions may encourage violent

reprisals. The latter group, which Friedman called " just one notch less

despicable

than the terrorists, " includes a majority of Americans, according to recent

polls.

 

Friedman's July 22 column proposed that the State Department, in order to " shine

a spotlight on hate speech wherever it appears, " create a quarterly " War

of Ideas Report, which would focus on those religious leaders and writers who

are

inciting violence against others. " But Friedman said the governmental speech

monitoring should go beyond those who actually advocate violence, and also

include

what former State Department spokesperson Jamie Rubin calls " excuse makers. "

Friedman wrote:

 

" After every major terrorist incident, the excuse makers come out to tell us

why imperialism, Zionism, colonialism or Iraq explains why the terrorists acted.

These excuse makers are just one notch less despicable than the terrorists and

also

deserve to be exposed. When you live in an open society like London, where

anyone

with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a political

movement,

the notion that blowing up a busload of innocent civilians in response to Iraq

is

somehow 'understandable' is outrageous. 'It erases the distinction between

legitimate

dissent and terrorism,' Mr. Rubin said, 'and an open society needs to maintain a

clear wall between them.' "

 

The " despicable " idea that there may be a connection between acts of terrorism

and particular policies by Western countries is one that is widely held by the

citizens

of those countries. Asked by the CNN/Gallup poll on July 7, " Do you think the

terrorists attacked London today mostly because Great Britain supports the

United

States in the war in Iraq? " 56 percent of Americans agreed. In a CNN/USA

Today/Gallup

poll (7/7-10/05), 54 percent said " the war with Iraq has made the U.S....less

safe from terrorism. " Since they see a connection between Iraq and terrorism,

a majority of Americans are what Friedman calls " excuse makers " who " deserve

to be exposed. "

 

Friedman's column urged the government to create quarterly lists of

" hatemongers "

and " excuse makers " --as well as " truth tellers, " Muslims who

agree with Friedman's critique of Islam. Friedman's proposed list of " excuse

makers " would have to include his New York Times colleague Bob Herbert, who

wrote in his July 25 column, " There is still no indication that the Bush

administration

recognizes the utter folly of its war in Iraq, which has been like a constant

spray

of gasoline on the fire of global terrorism. "

 

Leading members of the U.S. intelligence community might also find themselves on

such a blacklist, based on a report summarized earlier this year in the

Washington

Post (1/14/05):

 

" Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation

of 'professionalized' terrorists, according to a report released yesterday by

the

National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank.... According to

the

NIC report, Iraq has joined the list of conflicts--including the

Israeli-Palestinian

stalemate, and independence movements in Chechnya, Kashmir, Mindanao in the

Philippines,

and southern Thailand--that have deepened solidarity among Muslims and helped

spread

radical Islamic ideology. "

 

Though Friedman calls on the State Department to compile the " Top 10

hatemongers "

list in a " nondiscriminatory way, " it's doubtful that such a list would,

in fact, even-handedly include all advocates of violence. It would not be

likely,

for example, to include someone like Thomas Friedman, who during the Kosovo War

(4/6/99) called on the Clinton administration to " give war a chance, "

writing, " Let's see what 12 weeks of less than surgical bombing does. "

In a follow-up column (4/23/99) he declared that " Like it or not, we are at

war with the Serbian nation, " and insisted that " every power grid, water

pipe, bridge, road and war-related factory has to be targeted. " Despite the

fact that by calling for attacks on civilian targets he was advocating war

crimes,

Friedman should have no fear that he'll find himself on a State Department list

of " hatemongers. "

 

Friedman's suggestion that those who seek to understand or explain political

violence

are not part of " legitimate dissent " comes at a time when calls for censorship

are becoming more and more blatant. Bill O'Reilly (Radio Factor, 6/20/05, cited

by Media Matters, 6/22/05) made a chilling call for the criminalization war

opponents:

 

" You must know the difference between dissent from the Iraq War and the war

on terror and undermining it. And any American that undermines that war, with

our

soldiers in the field, or undermines the war on terror, with 3,000 dead on 9/11,

is a traitor. Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you're a traitor.

Got

it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we could incarcerate

them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the FBI and just

put

them in chains, because they, you know, they're undermining everything and they

don't care, couldn't care less. "

 

The call for the arrests of Air America Radio hosts was said as though it were a

joke, though O'Reilly is deadly serious when he says that the commentators on

that

network are " undermining " the war--and that such " undermining "

is treason.

 

O'Reilly more recently (7/25/05) went after Herbert's column that argued that

the

Iraq War fueled terrorism: " Bob Herbert is most likely helping the terrorists,

but his hatred of Mr. Bush blinds him to that. He's not alone, but this kind of

stuff has got to stop. We're now fighting for our lives. And those helping the

enemy

will be brought to your attention. "

 

" Attention, " rather than arrests, is all that Friedman has threatened

" excuse makers " like Herbert with. But it's a small step, as O'Reilly's

rhetoric demonstrates, between marginalizing critics of U.S. foreign policy as

" just

one notch less despicable than the terrorists " --and criminalizing criticism

itself.

 

ACTION: Please let Thomas Friedman know that opponents of the Iraq War do not

deserve

to be on a government blacklist--even if they oppose the war because they

believe

it encourages terrorism.

 

CONTACT:

Thomas Friedman

c/o New York Times Editorial Page

editorial

 

As always, please remember that your comments have more impact if you maintain a

polite tone.

 

Read Friedman's column here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/opinion/22friedman.html

 

 

" God was my co-pilot, but we crashed in the Andes and I had to eat him. "

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Hi Fraggle

 

Good to know that these people still support freedom of speech!!!!

 

> When you live in an open society like London, where anyone

> with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a

political movement,

 

I wonder which London he's referring to? The one in England, you can only do

those things if you have plenty of spare money, or know the right people!

 

BB

Peter

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Guest guest

Oh dear - they really do want people hog-tied, don't they!

 

Jo

 

, fraggle <EBbrewpunx@e...> wrote:

> http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2598

>

> ACTION ALERT:

> A New Blacklist for " Excuse Makers "

> Those who think Iraq War sparks terror are " despicable, " says

Friedman

>

> July 27, 2005

>

> New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has urged the U.S.

government to create

> blacklists of condemned political speech--not only by those who

advocate violence,

> but also by those who believe that U.S. government actions may

encourage violent

> reprisals. The latter group, which Friedman called " just one notch

less despicable

> than the terrorists, " includes a majority of Americans, according

to recent

> polls.

>

> Friedman's July 22 column proposed that the State Department, in

order to " shine

> a spotlight on hate speech wherever it appears, " create a

quarterly " War

> of Ideas Report, which would focus on those religious leaders and

writers who are

> inciting violence against others. " But Friedman said the

governmental speech

> monitoring should go beyond those who actually advocate violence,

and also include

> what former State Department spokesperson Jamie Rubin calls " excuse

makers. "

> Friedman wrote:

>

> " After every major terrorist incident, the excuse makers come out

to tell us

> why imperialism, Zionism, colonialism or Iraq explains why the

terrorists acted.

> These excuse makers are just one notch less despicable than the

terrorists and also

> deserve to be exposed. When you live in an open society like

London, where anyone

> with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a

political movement,

> the notion that blowing up a busload of innocent civilians in

response to Iraq is

> somehow 'understandable' is outrageous. 'It erases the distinction

between legitimate

> dissent and terrorism,' Mr. Rubin said, 'and an open society needs

to maintain a

> clear wall between them.' "

>

> The " despicable " idea that there may be a connection between acts

of terrorism

> and particular policies by Western countries is one that is widely

held by the citizens

> of those countries. Asked by the CNN/Gallup poll on July 7, " Do you

think the

> terrorists attacked London today mostly because Great Britain

supports the United

> States in the war in Iraq? " 56 percent of Americans agreed. In a

CNN/USA Today/Gallup

> poll (7/7-10/05), 54 percent said " the war with Iraq has made the

U.S....less

> safe from terrorism. " Since they see a connection between Iraq and

terrorism,

> a majority of Americans are what Friedman calls " excuse makers "

who " deserve

> to be exposed. "

>

> Friedman's column urged the government to create quarterly lists

of " hatemongers "

> and " excuse makers " --as well as " truth tellers, " Muslims who

> agree with Friedman's critique of Islam. Friedman's proposed list

of " excuse

> makers " would have to include his New York Times colleague Bob

Herbert, who

> wrote in his July 25 column, " There is still no indication that the

Bush administration

> recognizes the utter folly of its war in Iraq, which has been like

a constant spray

> of gasoline on the fire of global terrorism. "

>

> Leading members of the U.S. intelligence community might also find

themselves on

> such a blacklist, based on a report summarized earlier this year in

the Washington

> Post (1/14/05):

>

> " Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next

generation

> of 'professionalized' terrorists, according to a report released

yesterday by the

> National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank....

According to the

> NIC report, Iraq has joined the list of conflicts--including the

Israeli-Palestinian

> stalemate, and independence movements in Chechnya, Kashmir,

Mindanao in the Philippines,

> and southern Thailand--that have deepened solidarity among Muslims

and helped spread

> radical Islamic ideology. "

>

> Though Friedman calls on the State Department to compile the " Top

10 hatemongers "

> list in a " nondiscriminatory way, " it's doubtful that such a list

would,

> in fact, even-handedly include all advocates of violence. It would

not be likely,

> for example, to include someone like Thomas Friedman, who during

the Kosovo War

> (4/6/99) called on the Clinton administration to " give war a

chance, "

> writing, " Let's see what 12 weeks of less than surgical bombing

does. "

> In a follow-up column (4/23/99) he declared that " Like it or not,

we are at

> war with the Serbian nation, " and insisted that " every power grid,

water

> pipe, bridge, road and war-related factory has to be targeted. "

Despite the

> fact that by calling for attacks on civilian targets he was

advocating war crimes,

> Friedman should have no fear that he'll find himself on a State

Department list

> of " hatemongers. "

>

> Friedman's suggestion that those who seek to understand or explain

political violence

> are not part of " legitimate dissent " comes at a time when calls for

censorship

> are becoming more and more blatant. Bill O'Reilly (Radio Factor,

6/20/05, cited

> by Media Matters, 6/22/05) made a chilling call for the

criminalization war opponents:

>

> " You must know the difference between dissent from the Iraq War and

the war

> on terror and undermining it. And any American that undermines that

war, with our

> soldiers in the field, or undermines the war on terror, with 3,000

dead on 9/11,

> is a traitor. Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you're

a traitor. Got

> it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we

could incarcerate

> them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the

FBI and just put

> them in chains, because they, you know, they're undermining

everything and they

> don't care, couldn't care less. "

>

> The call for the arrests of Air America Radio hosts was said as

though it were a

> joke, though O'Reilly is deadly serious when he says that the

commentators on that

> network are " undermining " the war--and that such " undermining "

> is treason.

>

> O'Reilly more recently (7/25/05) went after Herbert's column that

argued that the

> Iraq War fueled terrorism: " Bob Herbert is most likely helping the

terrorists,

> but his hatred of Mr. Bush blinds him to that. He's not alone, but

this kind of

> stuff has got to stop. We're now fighting for our lives. And those

helping the enemy

> will be brought to your attention. "

>

> " Attention, " rather than arrests, is all that Friedman has

threatened

> " excuse makers " like Herbert with. But it's a small step, as

O'Reilly's

> rhetoric demonstrates, between marginalizing critics of U.S.

foreign policy as " just

> one notch less despicable than the terrorists " --and criminalizing

criticism

> itself.

>

> ACTION: Please let Thomas Friedman know that opponents of the Iraq

War do not deserve

> to be on a government blacklist--even if they oppose the war

because they believe

> it encourages terrorism.

>

> CONTACT:

> Thomas Friedman

> c/o New York Times Editorial Page

> editorial@n...

>

> As always, please remember that your comments have more impact if

you maintain a

> polite tone.

>

> Read Friedman's column here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/opinion/22friedman.html

>

>

> " God was my co-pilot, but we crashed in the Andes and I had to eat

him. "

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Guest guest

Too true. You definitely have to know the right people, otherwise

you don't get any media coverage etc. etc. etc.

 

BB

Jo

 

, " Peter " <metalscarab@c...> wrote:

> Hi Fraggle

>

> Good to know that these people still support freedom of speech!!!!

>

> > When you live in an open society like London, where anyone

> > with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a

> political movement,

>

> I wonder which London he's referring to? The one in England, you

can only do

> those things if you have plenty of spare money, or know the right

people!

>

> BB

> Peter

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Guest guest

old joe mcarthy's corpse must rollin with glee

 

 

heartwerk <heartwork

Jul 27, 2005 11:35 PM

 

Re: A New Blacklist for " Excuse Makers "

 

Oh dear - they really do want people hog-tied, don't they!

 

Jo

 

, fraggle <EBbrewpunx@e...> wrote:

> http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2598

>

> ACTION ALERT:

> A New Blacklist for " Excuse Makers "

> Those who think Iraq War sparks terror are " despicable, " says

Friedman

>

> July 27, 2005

>

> New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has urged the U.S.

government to create

> blacklists of condemned political speech--not only by those who

advocate violence,

> but also by those who believe that U.S. government actions may

encourage violent

> reprisals. The latter group, which Friedman called " just one notch

less despicable

> than the terrorists, " includes a majority of Americans, according

to recent

> polls.

>

> Friedman's July 22 column proposed that the State Department, in

order to " shine

> a spotlight on hate speech wherever it appears, " create a

quarterly " War

> of Ideas Report, which would focus on those religious leaders and

writers who are

> inciting violence against others. " But Friedman said the

governmental speech

> monitoring should go beyond those who actually advocate violence,

and also include

> what former State Department spokesperson Jamie Rubin calls " excuse

makers. "

> Friedman wrote:

>

> " After every major terrorist incident, the excuse makers come out

to tell us

> why imperialism, Zionism, colonialism or Iraq explains why the

terrorists acted.

> These excuse makers are just one notch less despicable than the

terrorists and also

> deserve to be exposed. When you live in an open society like

London, where anyone

> with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a

political movement,

> the notion that blowing up a busload of innocent civilians in

response to Iraq is

> somehow 'understandable' is outrageous. 'It erases the distinction

between legitimate

> dissent and terrorism,' Mr. Rubin said, 'and an open society needs

to maintain a

> clear wall between them.' "

>

> The " despicable " idea that there may be a connection between acts

of terrorism

> and particular policies by Western countries is one that is widely

held by the citizens

> of those countries. Asked by the CNN/Gallup poll on July 7, " Do you

think the

> terrorists attacked London today mostly because Great Britain

supports the United

> States in the war in Iraq? " 56 percent of Americans agreed. In a

CNN/USA Today/Gallup

> poll (7/7-10/05), 54 percent said " the war with Iraq has made the

U.S....less

> safe from terrorism. " Since they see a connection between Iraq and

terrorism,

> a majority of Americans are what Friedman calls " excuse makers "

who " deserve

> to be exposed. "

>

> Friedman's column urged the government to create quarterly lists

of " hatemongers "

> and " excuse makers " --as well as " truth tellers, " Muslims who

> agree with Friedman's critique of Islam. Friedman's proposed list

of " excuse

> makers " would have to include his New York Times colleague Bob

Herbert, who

> wrote in his July 25 column, " There is still no indication that the

Bush administration

> recognizes the utter folly of its war in Iraq, which has been like

a constant spray

> of gasoline on the fire of global terrorism. "

>

> Leading members of the U.S. intelligence community might also find

themselves on

> such a blacklist, based on a report summarized earlier this year in

the Washington

> Post (1/14/05):

>

> " Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next

generation

> of 'professionalized' terrorists, according to a report released

yesterday by the

> National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank....

According to the

> NIC report, Iraq has joined the list of conflicts--including the

Israeli-Palestinian

> stalemate, and independence movements in Chechnya, Kashmir,

Mindanao in the Philippines,

> and southern Thailand--that have deepened solidarity among Muslims

and helped spread

> radical Islamic ideology. "

>

> Though Friedman calls on the State Department to compile the " Top

10 hatemongers "

> list in a " nondiscriminatory way, " it's doubtful that such a list

would,

> in fact, even-handedly include all advocates of violence. It would

not be likely,

> for example, to include someone like Thomas Friedman, who during

the Kosovo War

> (4/6/99) called on the Clinton administration to " give war a

chance, "

> writing, " Let's see what 12 weeks of less than surgical bombing

does. "

> In a follow-up column (4/23/99) he declared that " Like it or not,

we are at

> war with the Serbian nation, " and insisted that " every power grid,

water

> pipe, bridge, road and war-related factory has to be targeted. "

Despite the

> fact that by calling for attacks on civilian targets he was

advocating war crimes,

> Friedman should have no fear that he'll find himself on a State

Department list

> of " hatemongers. "

>

> Friedman's suggestion that those who seek to understand or explain

political violence

> are not part of " legitimate dissent " comes at a time when calls for

censorship

> are becoming more and more blatant. Bill O'Reilly (Radio Factor,

6/20/05, cited

> by Media Matters, 6/22/05) made a chilling call for the

criminalization war opponents:

>

> " You must know the difference between dissent from the Iraq War and

the war

> on terror and undermining it. And any American that undermines that

war, with our

> soldiers in the field, or undermines the war on terror, with 3,000

dead on 9/11,

> is a traitor. Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you're

a traitor. Got

> it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we

could incarcerate

> them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the

FBI and just put

> them in chains, because they, you know, they're undermining

everything and they

> don't care, couldn't care less. "

>

> The call for the arrests of Air America Radio hosts was said as

though it were a

> joke, though O'Reilly is deadly serious when he says that the

commentators on that

> network are " undermining " the war--and that such " undermining "

> is treason.

>

> O'Reilly more recently (7/25/05) went after Herbert's column that

argued that the

> Iraq War fueled terrorism: " Bob Herbert is most likely helping the

terrorists,

> but his hatred of Mr. Bush blinds him to that. He's not alone, but

this kind of

> stuff has got to stop. We're now fighting for our lives. And those

helping the enemy

> will be brought to your attention. "

>

> " Attention, " rather than arrests, is all that Friedman has

threatened

> " excuse makers " like Herbert with. But it's a small step, as

O'Reilly's

> rhetoric demonstrates, between marginalizing critics of U.S.

foreign policy as " just

> one notch less despicable than the terrorists " --and criminalizing

criticism

> itself.

>

> ACTION: Please let Thomas Friedman know that opponents of the Iraq

War do not deserve

> to be on a government blacklist--even if they oppose the war

because they believe

> it encourages terrorism.

>

> CONTACT:

> Thomas Friedman

> c/o New York Times Editorial Page

> editorial@n...

>

> As always, please remember that your comments have more impact if

you maintain a

> polite tone.

>

> Read Friedman's column here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/opinion/22friedman.html

>

>

> " God was my co-pilot, but we crashed in the Andes and I had to eat

him. "

 

 

 

 

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Guest guest

Watch out folks. Anyone different is suspect. Plus, the rule of Degrees

from Kevin Bacon apply. Which would make vegans terrorists!

 

Lynda, who knows because at the age of 5 she was on the Red List as it was

then known because her step-father's step-father was a Communist! Gotta

watch out for those 5 year old terrorists!

-

" fraggle " <EBbrewpunx

 

Thursday, July 28, 2005 10:31 AM

Re: Re: A New Blacklist for " Excuse Makers "

 

 

> old joe mcarthy's corpse must rollin with glee

>

>

> heartwerk <heartwork

> Jul 27, 2005 11:35 PM

>

> Re: A New Blacklist for " Excuse Makers "

>

> Oh dear - they really do want people hog-tied, don't they!

>

> Jo

>

> , fraggle <EBbrewpunx@e...> wrote:

> > http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2598

> >

> > ACTION ALERT:

> > A New Blacklist for " Excuse Makers "

> > Those who think Iraq War sparks terror are " despicable, " says

> Friedman

> >

> > July 27, 2005

> >

> > New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has urged the U.S.

> government to create

> > blacklists of condemned political speech--not only by those who

> advocate violence,

> > but also by those who believe that U.S. government actions may

> encourage violent

> > reprisals. The latter group, which Friedman called " just one notch

> less despicable

> > than the terrorists, " includes a majority of Americans, according

> to recent

> > polls.

> >

> > Friedman's July 22 column proposed that the State Department, in

> order to " shine

> > a spotlight on hate speech wherever it appears, " create a

> quarterly " War

> > of Ideas Report, which would focus on those religious leaders and

> writers who are

> > inciting violence against others. " But Friedman said the

> governmental speech

> > monitoring should go beyond those who actually advocate violence,

> and also include

> > what former State Department spokesperson Jamie Rubin calls " excuse

> makers. "

> > Friedman wrote:

> >

> > " After every major terrorist incident, the excuse makers come out

> to tell us

> > why imperialism, Zionism, colonialism or Iraq explains why the

> terrorists acted.

> > These excuse makers are just one notch less despicable than the

> terrorists and also

> > deserve to be exposed. When you live in an open society like

> London, where anyone

> > with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a

> political movement,

> > the notion that blowing up a busload of innocent civilians in

> response to Iraq is

> > somehow 'understandable' is outrageous. 'It erases the distinction

> between legitimate

> > dissent and terrorism,' Mr. Rubin said, 'and an open society needs

> to maintain a

> > clear wall between them.' "

> >

> > The " despicable " idea that there may be a connection between acts

> of terrorism

> > and particular policies by Western countries is one that is widely

> held by the citizens

> > of those countries. Asked by the CNN/Gallup poll on July 7, " Do you

> think the

> > terrorists attacked London today mostly because Great Britain

> supports the United

> > States in the war in Iraq? " 56 percent of Americans agreed. In a

> CNN/USA Today/Gallup

> > poll (7/7-10/05), 54 percent said " the war with Iraq has made the

> U.S....less

> > safe from terrorism. " Since they see a connection between Iraq and

> terrorism,

> > a majority of Americans are what Friedman calls " excuse makers "

> who " deserve

> > to be exposed. "

> >

> > Friedman's column urged the government to create quarterly lists

> of " hatemongers "

> > and " excuse makers " --as well as " truth tellers, " Muslims who

> > agree with Friedman's critique of Islam. Friedman's proposed list

> of " excuse

> > makers " would have to include his New York Times colleague Bob

> Herbert, who

> > wrote in his July 25 column, " There is still no indication that the

> Bush administration

> > recognizes the utter folly of its war in Iraq, which has been like

> a constant spray

> > of gasoline on the fire of global terrorism. "

> >

> > Leading members of the U.S. intelligence community might also find

> themselves on

> > such a blacklist, based on a report summarized earlier this year in

> the Washington

> > Post (1/14/05):

> >

> > " Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next

> generation

> > of 'professionalized' terrorists, according to a report released

> yesterday by the

> > National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank....

> According to the

> > NIC report, Iraq has joined the list of conflicts--including the

> Israeli-Palestinian

> > stalemate, and independence movements in Chechnya, Kashmir,

> Mindanao in the Philippines,

> > and southern Thailand--that have deepened solidarity among Muslims

> and helped spread

> > radical Islamic ideology. "

> >

> > Though Friedman calls on the State Department to compile the " Top

> 10 hatemongers "

> > list in a " nondiscriminatory way, " it's doubtful that such a list

> would,

> > in fact, even-handedly include all advocates of violence. It would

> not be likely,

> > for example, to include someone like Thomas Friedman, who during

> the Kosovo War

> > (4/6/99) called on the Clinton administration to " give war a

> chance, "

> > writing, " Let's see what 12 weeks of less than surgical bombing

> does. "

> > In a follow-up column (4/23/99) he declared that " Like it or not,

> we are at

> > war with the Serbian nation, " and insisted that " every power grid,

> water

> > pipe, bridge, road and war-related factory has to be targeted. "

> Despite the

> > fact that by calling for attacks on civilian targets he was

> advocating war crimes,

> > Friedman should have no fear that he'll find himself on a State

> Department list

> > of " hatemongers. "

> >

> > Friedman's suggestion that those who seek to understand or explain

> political violence

> > are not part of " legitimate dissent " comes at a time when calls for

> censorship

> > are becoming more and more blatant. Bill O'Reilly (Radio Factor,

> 6/20/05, cited

> > by Media Matters, 6/22/05) made a chilling call for the

> criminalization war opponents:

> >

> > " You must know the difference between dissent from the Iraq War and

> the war

> > on terror and undermining it. And any American that undermines that

> war, with our

> > soldiers in the field, or undermines the war on terror, with 3,000

> dead on 9/11,

> > is a traitor. Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you're

> a traitor. Got

> > it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we

> could incarcerate

> > them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the

> FBI and just put

> > them in chains, because they, you know, they're undermining

> everything and they

> > don't care, couldn't care less. "

> >

> > The call for the arrests of Air America Radio hosts was said as

> though it were a

> > joke, though O'Reilly is deadly serious when he says that the

> commentators on that

> > network are " undermining " the war--and that such " undermining "

> > is treason.

> >

> > O'Reilly more recently (7/25/05) went after Herbert's column that

> argued that the

> > Iraq War fueled terrorism: " Bob Herbert is most likely helping the

> terrorists,

> > but his hatred of Mr. Bush blinds him to that. He's not alone, but

> this kind of

> > stuff has got to stop. We're now fighting for our lives. And those

> helping the enemy

> > will be brought to your attention. "

> >

> > " Attention, " rather than arrests, is all that Friedman has

> threatened

> > " excuse makers " like Herbert with. But it's a small step, as

> O'Reilly's

> > rhetoric demonstrates, between marginalizing critics of U.S.

> foreign policy as " just

> > one notch less despicable than the terrorists " --and criminalizing

> criticism

> > itself.

> >

> > ACTION: Please let Thomas Friedman know that opponents of the Iraq

> War do not deserve

> > to be on a government blacklist--even if they oppose the war

> because they believe

> > it encourages terrorism.

> >

> > CONTACT:

> > Thomas Friedman

> > c/o New York Times Editorial Page

> > editorial@n...

> >

> > As always, please remember that your comments have more impact if

> you maintain a

> > polite tone.

> >

> > Read Friedman's column here:

> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/opinion/22friedman.html

> >

> >

> > " God was my co-pilot, but we crashed in the Andes and I had to eat

> him. "

>

>

>

>

> To send an email to -

>

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