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Bio: I am the author of the book 'The march that shook Blair: An oral history of 15 February 2003', published by Peace News Press: http://peacenews.info/node/7085/march-shook-blair-oral-h... (More)

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Exchange with BBC presenter about Operation Mostarak in Afghanistan

By Ian Sinclair at Feb 19, 2010


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Dear Ms Shah
 
Introducing a segment on the current US-led 'surge' in Helmand province on The World Tonight last night you stated "Operation Moshtarak in southern Afghanistan has two aims.  The first is to drive out the Taliban, the second is to bring good governance to the region." (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qtl3).
 
Shouldn't you have said "Operation Moshtarak in southern Afghanistan has two STATED aims" or "NATO SAY Operation Moshtarak in southern Afghanistan has two aims"?
 
I ask because I am aware the Soviet Union's publicly stated strategy for their invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s was "to prevent the establishment of... a terrorist regime and to protect the Afghan people from genocide", and also to provide "aid in stabilising the situation and the repulsion of possible external aggression" (http://www.medialens.org/alerts/07/071120_invasion_a_comparison.php).
 
I presume you wouldn't have taken the Soviet Union's publicly stated reasons for invading and occupying Afghanistan at face value, so why have you done so with the US Government?
 
I look forward to your reply.
 
Kind regards
 
Ian Sinclair

 
 
Dear Mr Sinclair
 
Thanks very much for your email, I think you raise an interesting point. I would hope if journalists have learned anything from the coverage of recent conflicts, it would be scepticism and caution in assuming anything is a "fact". What I was hoping to convey in that opening script was that if these were their aims - stated or otherwise - then the death of civilians was going to severely compromise their ability of achieving them, however I could have been clearer in attributing the aims to NATO. Also the discussion at the end of the sequence took a very sceptical look at how much we really know about what is going on in Southern Afghanistan. Patrick Bishop, one of the contributors said it may be years before we know what actually happened and can then assess its consequences.
 
I do appreciate your thoughts as our use of language is something we discuss on a daily basis and anything that makes us think about it some more can only be a good thing.
 
Best wishes,
 
Ritula Shah
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BBC reporting is shocking

By Andrews, John at Feb 19, 2010 23:35 PM

 Ian

I agree completely. The BBC's reporting of Afghanistan is frighteningly biased. On Radio 4's Today programme earlier this week, I heard Ian Pannell state something along the following lines: "Of course, NATO are devastated by the deaths of the civilians and they have immediately withdrawn a certain type of weapons system". This in response to:

 

Nato has confirmed that two rockets fired at militants during its offensive in Helmand, south Afghanistan, missed their target and killed 12 civilians.

The rockets struck a house in Marjah as thousands of Nato troops continued their operations to oust the Taliban. 

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Re: BBC reporting is shocking

By Andrews, John at Feb 19, 2010 23:45 PM

 Sorry, Ian, I hit save too soon.

Can you imagine a rocket attack killing 12 civilians in the UK or USA? Would a reporter really say that the aggressor was devastated for killing the civilians and then seamlessly continue with the daily activities of the troops with which he was embedded?

There has been no indication to date that NATO cares how much 'collateral damage' it causes. Why should this atrocity be any different? Why were NATO devastated? How did Ian Pannell know that NATO was devastated.

The reporting is so bad that I cannot even listen to it any more.

Thanks for all your great articles.

Best wishes

John Andrews

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