Freedom
Rider: Bilal Hussein and Bill Kristol
by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
"I think it is an open
question whether the Times itself should be prosecuted [emphasis mine]
for this totally gratuitous revealing of an ongoing secret classified program
that is part of the war on terror." - Bill Kristol
The irrelevancy of the
American corporate media was confirmed and celebrated with great fanfare in
2007. First, Newsweek announced that Karl Rove, the Bushies right hand
man, would become a columnist covering the 2008 presidential election. Newsweek
didn't even bother to hire a conservative writer for the job. The fixer of
fixers, the man who oversaw voter suppression, the firings of federal
prosecutors and every other tool of Republican terror, will be doing a
journalist's job. The powers that be at Newsweek were confirming more
than a new hire, they confirmed that they had no intention of carrying out
their very reason for being, reporting the news.
Not wanting to be kept
out of the great ring wing sucking up, the New York Times hired Bill
Kristol as its newest op-ed columnist. Kristol was and is one of the most
influential conservative voices in the media. Kristol served as chief of staff
to former Vice President Dan Quayle, is a co-founder and editor of Rupert
Murdoch's Weekly Standard and a regular commentator on Fox news. He is
also chairman of the Project for a New
American Century, the neocon group responsible for war and the
thousands of dead bodies that always go along with it.
"Cynicism is the order of the day and
true journalism is optional."
Kristol once said that
the Times should have been prosecuted for printing a news story about
government surveillance of financial transactions. Now that Kristol will be on
the Times payroll, it is not clear if he knew he was being totally
disingenuous in his criticism or if he decided to forget all about his beliefs
and make some extra cash. Evidently all parties agree that cynicism is the
order of the day and true journalism is optional.
While Bill Bill Kristol
basks in the glow of a new and highly lucrative gig, Bilal Hussein
sits in a
jail cell in Iraq. Hussein is a Pulitzer prize winning photographer for the
Associated Press. He did his job well, so well in fact that the United States
military decided to silence him for good.
Hussein was arrested in April
of 2006 and held without charge until November 2007. At that time the Pentagon
claimed they had evidence Hussein was a "terrorist media operative" who had "infiltrated the
AP."
Hussein was part of the
team acknowledged by the Pulitzer
committee for breaking news story photography in 2005. He took
stunning photos of the Iraqi resistance in Fallujah and became world famous for
doing what a photographer in a war zone ought to do.
At a time when the
American media accepted the Pentagon directive to become "embedded" with
troops, Hussein and others did not. While the networks and newspapers did
nothing but spread government propaganda, Hussein did the job they should have
done.
"Hussein took stunning photos of the Iraqi resistance
in Fallujah."
Hussein's truth telling was terribly inconvenient for Uncle Sam. The military used right wing bloggers to tell
outright lies
about his work, including allegations that he was an accessory to killings and
kidnappings. Bilal Hussein received the same treatment that thousands of other
Iraqis have faced, detention without charge or trial, a time honored tradition
for occupiers around the globe.
Hussein's case is
finally being heard, but in a hastily called kangaroo court. The Pentagon
doesn't want its fingerprints on the obvious injustice, so an Iraqi judge
presides over the Hussein show trial. Hussein's attorney does not have the
right to speak with him in private, or to participate in
the proceedings in any way. Witnesses against him are seen on video,
denying him the opportunity to question them or their statements. The Iraqi
judge announced at the beginning of his hearing that Hussein will be convicted,
making the outcome of the case a foregone conclusion.
"The Iraqi judge announced at the beginning of his hearing that Hussein
will be convicted."
The Kristols of the world can do no wrong, even
when they are wrong, whether about the existence of WMD or Iranian nuclear
capability. They continue to climb the ladder, making names and money for
themselves. Their crimes are rewarded, even by the people they seek to silence.
The Husseins of the world get no recognition, if
they are lucky. If they are unlucky they are recognized and their heads are
stuck on poles, warning the rest of the world to let the empire do exactly as
it pleases. There will be no justice for Bilal Hussein unless real reporters
start taking their profession seriously, which is highly unlikely in the
current political climate of fear. Rewards come to those who lie and punishment
comes to those who tell the truth. That is the moral of the story of Bilal and
Bill.
Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column
appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached
via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. Ms. Kimberley'
maintains an edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com.
More of her work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive
page.
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