Reflection: Terror plot and disproportionate reporting by corporate media!

Assalamu Alaikum,

Before reading this please read my earlier post – Current Issues: UK airline terror plot

For the past two week the corporate media has been bursting with news on the alleged plot to blow U.S. jetliners out of the Atlantic skies. It resulted in causing great amount of panic and rekindle fear of “Islamic terror” in the minds of people. A Sri Lankan newspaper columnist made these observations about media latest spotlight.

“Does the news about the terror plot deserve such prominence? Look at some of the facts of the matter.

• The plane plot was discovered well ahead of the alleged date on which the terror suspects were to allegedly execute their plan. So there was no need to cause unnecessary panic and flight delays worldwide.
  
  
• The claim that five of the suspects are still at large was made by US authorities. Scotland Yard did not state this in its statement.
  
  
• Since 1996, or even before that, western intelligence units and law enforcement authorities have been aware of the possibility of terrorists using liquid explosives.
  
  
• None of the suspects was arrested in any of the British airports.
  
  
• The arrests were the result of a long-standing investigation – a coordinated effort of the US, British and Pakistani governments. This means the suspects had been under surveillance for a long period. Surely, the authorities could have stepped up security measures to detect liquid explosives at every western airport as soon as they came to know about the alleged plot.
  
  
• President Bush in a brief statement on Thursday said the plot was a “stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom.” There are no “Jewish-fascists” in Bush’s lexicon to describe those who kill children in Lebanon, and the US president after the 9/11 attacks made a similar statement saying the “terrorists hate us, because they hate the freedom we enjoy.”
  

In the absence of an independent and objective global TV channel to report the news as it is, the corporate media are probably over reacting – or, to use the Lebanese conflict jargon, indulging in disproportionate reporting.”

It is also alleged that a powerful section of the Western corporate media is in the hands of those who wage the war on terror on behalf of capitalism, rightwing evangelism and Zionism.