Media Botches Coverage on US-Taliban Negotiations

"U.S. Mulls Talks With Taliban in Bid to Quell Afgan Unrest"

This was the headline Wednesday morning in one major U.S. newspaper (link). The story, only deemed front-page news by The Wall Street Journal, explains how Gen. Petraeus backs an effort to talk with certain elements of the Taliban in order to quell some of the violence and destabilization in Afghanistan. The classified recommendation advises the Afghan government lead the negotiations with the "active participation of the U.S.," which we know what that means...mainly that the U.S. would have a major roll in the negotiations though we probably would never know to what extent.

Still while we also don't know which direction the Bush Administration will take in the final weeks of its existence, it should be noted that the recommendation is supported by a man (Petraeus) who used a similar tactic to recruit Sunni tribes against al Qaeda, thus lowering the violence in Iraq. This makes the recommendation popular no doubt among many supports both within and outside the party, which in turn makes it a very real possibility. On the other hand however, many have argued that by arming the Sunnis of Iraq we are only leaving the door open for outright civil war once our soldiers do finally leave the country. Which begs the question of whether or not negotiations with the Taliban will lead to a similar result.

Frankly though, I don't care. Why? Because I'm more upset that this story was not covered by any of the other leading papers in the country. The fact that the Bush administration is considering this proposal only serves to highlight how hypocritical, damaging, and irrational their policies have been over the last eight years. The news should have had a field day with this story, and yet they said nothing! Opting instead to report on the world series, stocks, and gas prices.

This tiny nugget of information serves only as a stark reminder that if the government isn't controlling what information you have access to, the media is. I encourage all readers of this blog to read (or at least browse) multiple publications each day to ensure the maximum amount of exposure is obtained. It only takes fifteen minutes a day, which is well worth it considering how much it will improve one's understanding of issues and the world at large. Try it out.

Here are just a handful of publications you can bookmark to get started:

The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Washington Post
USAToday
Time Magazine
Newsweek
The Nation