Beyond the DropZone

Turning a terrorist into a cult hero

[Posted at WDR by W. Thomas Smith Jr. on Feb 21, 2008]

In what the Jerusalem Post refers to as "an uncommon act of journalistic contrition," the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has issued a public apology "to anyone who was offended" by its reference of recently-killed terrorist mastermind Imad Mughniyeh as a "great national leader."

For once, a major Western media outlet did the right thing by admitting its complicity – perhaps unwitting collusion – in what is becoming a trend toward soft-soaping terrorists and their activities. But how could the BBC have come to this is in the first place?

It's all part of a dangerous drift toward so-called fairness – not to be confused with free speech – wherein media companies increasingly are giving platforms, equal time, and – for some strange reason – objective deference to terrorists and terrorist organizations.

• Read entire column at Townhall.com.

Previous post: The insanity of Hezbollah [15 Feb 08]

— W. Thomas Smith Jr. – a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader, parachutist, and shipboard counterterrorism instructor – writes about military/defense issues and has covered conflict in the Balkans, on the West Bank, in Iraq and Lebanon. He has written six books, and his articles have appeared in USA Today, George, U.S. News & World Report, BusinessWeek, National Review Online, CBS News, The Washington Times, and many others.

W. Thomas Smith Jr. can be reached at wthomassmithjr@yahoo.com.

© 2008 W. Thomas Smith Jr.

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NOTE: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and do not represent the opinions of World Defense Review and its affiliates. WDR accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the accuracy or inaccuracy of the content of this or any other story published on this website. Copyright and all rights for this story (and all other stories by the author) are held by the author.

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