From: "Mohammed BEN JELLOUN" <mohammed.benjelloun-AT-mail.bip.net> Subject: Fw: [FAIR-L] Media Pundits Advocate Civilian Targets Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 23:30:40 +0200 ----- Original Message ----- From: "FAIR-L" <FAIR-L-AT-FAIR.ORG> To: <FAIR-L-AT-LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU> Sent: den 24 september 2001 16:10 Subject: [FAIR-L] Media Pundits Advocate Civilian Targets > FAIR-L > Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting > Media analysis, critiques and news reports > > > > > > ACTION ALERT: > Media Pundits Advocate Civilian Targets > > September 24, 2001 > > As the news media prepare for war, some prominent journalists have been > advocating military strategies that violate the laws of war and mirror the > strategies of terrorists. > > Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, the channel's most popular host, declared > on his September 17 broadcast that if the Afghan government did not > extradite Osama bin Laden to the U.S., "the U.S. should bomb the Afghan > infrastructure to rubble-- the airport, the power plants, their water > facilities, and the roads." O'Reilly went on to say: > > "This is a very primitive country. And taking out their ability to exist day > to day will not be hard. Remember, the people of any country are ultimately > responsible for the government they have. The Germans were responsible for > Hitler. The Afghans are responsible for the Taliban. We should not target > civilians. But if they don't rise up against this criminal government, they > starve, period." > > O'Reilly added that in Iraq, "their infrastructure must be destroyed and the > population made to endure yet another round of intense pain.... Maybe then > the people there will finally overthrow Saddam." If Libya's Moammar Khadafy > does not relinquish power and go into exile, "we bomb his oil facilities, > all of them. And we mine the harbor in Tripoli. Nothing goes in, nothing > goes out. We also destroy all the airports in Libya. Let them eat sand." > > It's unclear how O'Reilly is able to reconcile his claim that "we should not > target civilians" with his calls for decimating the infrastructures of at > least three countries and starving their populations. > > His tone remained the same a few nights later (9/19/01), as he recommended > bombing Afghanistan "in strategic ways and hope that the people themselves > would rise up and throw the Taliban out." Acknowledging that Afghanis "are > starving as it is," O'Reilly recommended that the U.S. intensify civilian > suffering by knocking out "what little infrastructure they have" and blowing > up "every truck you see" to make sure that "there's not going to be anything > to eat." > > The Geneva Conventions (Protocol 1, Part IV, Chapter III, Article 54) are > very clear that "starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is > prohibited." They specify that "objects indispensable to the survival of the > civilian population," including water and food supplies, are not legal > military targets. Violating these strictures, which are legally binding on > the U.S., would constitute a war crime, and might be considered a crime > against humanity. > > New York Daily News columnist A.M. Rosenthal, formerly the executive editor > of the New York Times, had similarly disturbing advice in his September 14 > column. Rosenthal suggested an ultimatum be delivered to at least six > countries-- Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria and Sudan-- giving them > three days to hand over documents and information related to weapons of mass > destruction and terrorist organizations. > > Rosenthal warned that "in the three days the terrorists were considering the > American ultimatum, the residents of the countries would be urged 24 hours a > day by the U.S. to flee the capital and major cities, because they would be > bombed to the ground beginning the fourth day." > > The Geneva Conventions state that combatants "shall at all times distinguish > between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects > and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only > against military objectives" (Part IV, Chapter I, Article 48). > > If actually carried out, the proposals made by these pundits would almost > certainly result in civilian deaths totaling in the millions. Suggesting > that killing large numbers of civilians is an acceptable political strategy > only legitimizes the logic of terrorism. > > > ACTION: Please contact these journalists and point out that it is > irresponsible to encourage the government to commit illegal acts and kill > innocent people. > > CONTACT: > Fox News Channel > Bill O'Reilly, The O'Reilly Factor > mailto:oreilly-AT-foxnews.com > > New York Daily News > A.M. Rosenthal > mailto:rosecolumn-AT-aol.com > > > As always, please remember that your comments are taken more seriously if > you maintain a polite tone. Please cc fair-AT-fair.org with your > correspondence. > > ***CORRECTION: In FAIR's 9/17 Media Advisory, the cite for Ann Coulter's > column was incorrect. The column appeared in the National Review's online > edition, not in the New York Daily News. FAIR regrets the error. > > ---------- > > Feel free to respond to FAIR ( fair-AT-fair.org ). We can't reply to > everything, but we will look at each message. We especially appreciate > documented example of media bias or censorship. And please send copies of > your email correspondence with media outlets, including any responses, to us > at: fair-AT-fair.org . > > FAIR ON THE AIR: FAIR's founder Jeff Cohen is a regular panelist on the Fox > News Channel's "Fox News Watch," which airs which airs Saturdays at 7 pm and > Sundays at 11 am (Eastern Standard Time). Check your local listings. > > FAIR produces CounterSpin, a weekly radio show heard on over 130 stations in > the U.S. and Canada. To find the CounterSpin station nearest you, visit > http://www.fair.org/counterspin/stations.html . > > Please support FAIR by subscribing to our bimonthly magazine, Extra! > For more information, go to: > http://www.fair.org/extra/subscribe.html . Or call 1-800-847-3993. > > FAIR's INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: FAIR accepts internship applications for its New > York office on a rolling basis. For more information, see: > http://www.fair.org/internships.html > > You can subscribe to FAIR-L at our web site: http://www.fair.org , or by > sending a "subscribe FAIR-L enter your full name" command to > LISTSERV-AT-LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU . Our subscriber list is kept confidential. > > You may leave the list at any time-- just send a message with "SIGNOFF > FAIR-L" in the body to: LISTSERV-AT-LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU . > > FAIR > (212) 633-6700 > http://www.fair.org/ > E-mail: fair-AT-fair.org > > list administrators: FAIR-L-request-AT-american.edu > > --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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